Fate, Chaos and Plans
by JJ1293
Summary: All Neji needed to do was suffer his teammate Lee for a little while longer before the Chūnin exams. In one world, he did just that and went on with Team Gai, holding his anger in. But in another world. In this world. One slip was all it took... A for want of a nail fic in which Neji's destructive personality gets him kicked off Team Gai.
1. Chapter 0 - Prologue

**Fate, Chaos and Plans**

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_Prologue - Three Seconds  
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_"Ours is the only reality of consequence."_

— **Teal'c**, _Stargate SG-1_

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Neji was not happy.

This was a colossal understatement.

After returning from yet another pitifully easy C-rank mission with his teammates, Lee had decided that he would launch into yet another tirade about training and his aspirations to beat him, his 'eternal rival'. God, he hated that title. Did he not understand? Was the extent of his ability really that difficult to grasp? Lee would_ never_ defeat him, regardless of how much effort he put into his training. That was his fate.

He glanced at his sensei, the man whom Lee had attempted to emulate down to his horrific fashion sense. Neji's eyes pleaded in some doomed attempt to request him to silence his student. Of course the man instead cried horrible man-tears while clenching his fist, yelling about the power of youth. Because _that _helped.

"Gai sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai sensei!"

"Lee!"

At the very least they seemed to have forgotten about him in whatever it was they were doing. Not that he wanted to know. Ever. He would have to ask Tenten to kill him if he ever started acting like tha-

"Eternal rival!"

Neji's head snapped around to look at Lee. When their team first formed, he'd tried to ignore this behavior, hoping he would eventually tire of the farce. Instead he would just yell louder about something regarding 'hip' or 'modern' attitudes with Gai sensei usually chiming in. While he had not the slightest clue what they were talking about, he would rather not prolong the torture that passed for conversation with them.

"What now?!" Neji snapped, making his best 'I'm not in the mood for your crap right now' face.

He pointed a finger at him before launching into his rant. The same rant that he'd listened to him spouting for the best part of a year.

Every… Single… Day.

He'd kept his calm though.

Always.

To display emotion, especially something as volatile as anger, was not proper for a ninja. Admittedly, he had to force it around Lee, he was no Aburame, he did have his limits. In retrospect Neji would look upon bottling up his emotions as a bad decision.

"Soon!"

_Shut up_

"You shall see the product of my effort!"

_Shut up!_

"A genius of hard work shall prevail against a natural genius!"

Lee assumed some kind of mock battle pose in an attempt to impress his team, earning him some odd looks from the Konia gatekeepers before continuing.

"And with my advanced Taijutsu I will surpass those who looked down upon me!"

_Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! _

"_Even you Neji!"_

And that was it. No one was doing anything good about this. Hell, Gai was actively encouraging it. Tenten? Please. She was just sighing as if this kind of behaviour was amusingly quirky. Well, no more.

In another world perhaps, Neji would have kept his temper long enough to realise that once he became a Chūnin, which was bound to happen after the upcoming exams, he could ditch this failure and work with whomever he please. Or alone even. Yes, some solitude and quiet would suit him perfectly while he completed his missions. Hell, if Tenten could actually settle on specialising on one weapon long enough to master its practice rather than going from one to the next like some child with and attention deficit disorder on a sugar high then he might even let her tag along. All he had to do was stomach this for a little while longer.

But not in this world. He'd had enough of this. It was time to put someone in their place.

Three seconds.

That was all it took to change Neji's life.

In one second the gap between the two had been closed, Neji's chakra infused hands already at Lee's left arm.

The next second involved the actual use of the physical force as well as the chakra his hand, doing as much damage as he could.

Which… in retrospect… was a lot.

Then came the third and final second, which, despite having activated his Byakugan, was barely perceived by Neji as a large green blur that was probably Gai-sensei, moved at him.

Then there was darkness.

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_Ugh… where... what?_

Neji slowly open his eyes, his senses felt distorted. He was… in hospital? But why? His team had completed their mission successfully, easily even. They were already at the village gates when…

_Oh no_

"Oh no"

"Oh yes, my _ex_-student"

Gai-sensei was there. Obviously irritated to no end at his favourite student had been…

_Wait, did he just say-_

Neji moved his head around to address his visitor. The expression on his face removing the need speak.

"You did not mishear me Neji. My anger, blinding as it may be at your behaviour is not the reason for this. Though it might have been if you had not made the decision for me."

"Is L-"

"YOU WILL NOT SPEAK RIGHT NOW. YOU WILL LISTEN AND YOU WILL DO AS YOU ARE INSTRUCTED". Gai's voice reverbed through the hospital wing.

Neji froze in absolute fear as the man regained his original composure adn began to speak. "Lee is currently being seen to by the medical staff after **you broke his arm...**" That didn't sound too bad. Okay, it _was_ bad. But not dismissal bad. "…however it will take longer for the chakra coil you nearly **obliterated** to regenerate"

It was now that bad.

"Do you know why your attack did not remove Lee from his career a ninja completely?" Gai asked, almost in a whisper, his mouth sporadically twitching upwards in an unnatural grin as if there was some kind of sickening humor to be gained from the whole affair that he was just dying to share. Neji gave the slightest shake of his head to show that he didn't. "Of course not," Gai said shaking his head. He looked away for a moment before turning back and continuing.

"His underdeveloped chakra coils."

Neji's eyes widened. A detestable feeling spread through him as the information clicked into place.

"You remember don't you?" Gai continued. "The ones that you referred to when you told him why he would always be a failure? They're what saved him. The stunted amount of chakra flowing through them as well as their smaller size dramatically lessened the damage inflicted upon him"

The irony was spectacular. What had made him an instant failure as a ninja in Neji's eyes was now the reason he remained as one.

"I'd like you to Know this Neji. If Lee does not make a _full_ and _total_ recovery, despite your clan, I will make sure your career as a ninja is over". His words felt as if they were laced with ice. Rather appropriate as Neji forced himself to suppress a shiver. He knew he would come through on the threat.

"W-Will he?" Neji stuttered. He didn't usually stutter but his fear had seemingly managed to writhe its way into his speech. "Make a recovery I mean?" God, he was starting to sound like Hinata.

"They say his chances are good. 80%, I am led to believe"

He sighed with relief at the odds, realizing too late that that was incredibly foolish.

"and IF he recovers" Gai continued "then you will still not be a ninja." Neji's eyes flared at this before Gai finished "not with _me_ you won't be".

_What was that supposed to mean?_

"You have assaulted and grievously injured a teammate, a Konohagakure ninja" he said, his voice almost void of emotion now, as if reading out his crimes before a jury moments before enforcing judgement. "and you did it while still technically on a mission".

Now for the sentence.

"You will be sent back to the academy to take supplementary classes in the areas which I have noted you are lacking both physically and psychologically. You will do this until the next set of Genin graduate. Providing that you pass, which you probably will, you will be placed on a new team taking up the position of rookie of the year by default"

"Will this not anger the current rookie of the year?" He wasn't really sure why he'd voiced the thought. He didn't particularly care. It just seemed somehow... relevant.

"I believe I said I did not wish to be interrupted". There was far less anger in his voice this time. He just seemed… sad. "However, to answer your question" he sighed before taking a deep breath. "No it will not, as they will be taking _your_ old position on _my _team. However, it will make things difficult. I hear Iruka had already been making some plans for the teams based on their predicted grades and I'll have to train a fresh Genin up to the level of my other two students. This will probably be detrimental to them and I may even have to consider holding them back again before submitting them for the Chūnin exams". He paused before continuing. "But that is outside of my control now".

Guilt was whirling inside Neji now. The part of him that identified itself as 'logic', declared that he didn't care about Lee, as his career as a ninja was doomed from the start. He may have even been doing him a favour, though for some reason that argument didn't really sit well with him. On the other hand, he had no such excuse regarding Tenten. She was an entirely competent ninja and didn't deserve to feel the consequences of his actions. Whatever it was about Lee's situation that stung him, Tenten's made him feel physically ill.

"Outside of necessity we will no longer be speaking to each other." You will report to Iruka at the academy after you are discharged, which will most likely be in a few hours. He will be filling you in on any information I have may neglected to tell you. He strode towards the door, opening it, allowing a nurse into the room to check on him before turning one last time.

"Goodbye Neji"

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[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]

_A/N : and that's it for the first chapter of this fanfic. This shows the divergence point within the story. Honestly, considering Neji's relationship with Lee before Naruto's beat down therapy I'm surprised that this kind of issue wasn't talked about in the original manga/anime. This will star Naruto as the main character and I'm sorry if it seems a bit misleading, but this is the nail that I'm taking from the story (god I love TV Tropes)._

_A few answers to questions I expect:_

_Yes, there will be romance. No there will not be OOC Yaoi (I'm trying to keep everyone in character and none of the main characters are gay as far as I know). Which pairings? Not telling for two reasons. One – spoilers, reading the story and finding out is part of the fun. Two - I haven't quite decided yet (though I do have some in mind). On a side note, there will be NO harems or multiple romantic partners in any way for any of the characters (unless I wanted to make a character look like a cheating scumbag); in my humble opinion it totally breaks suspension of disbelief. Please note, I said __romantic__ partners. not physical. Our favourite pervy sage is still going to be a hilarious Casanova._

_This is not a Lemon fic. Those of you do not know this is, probably weren't looking for one. (If you want to know search TV Tropes for it)_

_Age rating is probably T for violence and swearing. May have to up it to an M at some point for blood/gore if needed._

_Please review as input is appreciated. Criticism should please be constructive as I can't really fix a problem if all I get is 'you suck'. Of course if you wish to sing my praises from the rooftops then don't hold back on my account. Don't worry, I can take it._

_Later _


	2. Chapter 1 - Learning

_Apparently I need to acknowledge that I don't own Naruto despite the fact that this is __**Fan**__fiction. I do not own Naruto. __Shocking__ I know. I'm terribly sorry to have misled you all like this. So here's another chapter to make up for it. _

_Don't own Bleach either. And with that bombshell…_

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"Outside of necessity we will no longer be speaking to each other." You will report to Iruka at the academy after you are discharged, which will most likely be in a few hours. He will be filling you in any information I have neglected to tell you. He strode towards the door, opening it, allowing a nurse into the room to check on him before turning one last time.

"Goodbye Neji"

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_**Chapter 1 - Learning  
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_**"Things do not change; we change."  
-Henry David Thoreau**_

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Neji left the hospital on Friday, the same day Gai sensei-

_No..._

-He had left the hospital same day he woke op there. His uncle, Hiashi Hyūga, had shown up shortly after Gai had left to reprimand him. This of course, amounted to a threat to activate his _Caged Bird Seal_ should he ever embarrass the Hyūga clan in such a way again. He admitted to himself that this scared him. No branch member was safe from their first sample of the pain and he was not exactly enthusiastic to feel it again.

Later though, he had remembered that Hinata was graduating the academy this year and had formed a snide grin while thinking about it.

_Hiashi is going to have enough trouble with that bag of raw nerves he calls a daughter embarrassing the clan before I even show up on his radar. I'll be fine with that failure drawing the flak. _

Shortly after Neji had been discharged from hospital, he headed for the academy as told. He was in a less than pleasant mood after Hiashi had scolded him. He was ready to make demands, wave the clan name around, intimidate with his Byakugan, he didn't care. He was angry and here was some academy peon named Iruka. A perfectly good outlet.

Only he wasn't.

The man whose name he quickly confirmed had, before he could start his, 'can't touch this clan' performance, immediately asked about Lee, taking him off guard.

"Is he still going at it then?"

"Excuse me?" Neji replied. How was he supposed to know what that meant?

"That- you're off his team for good right?" Neji scowled a bit but nodded in response.

"I told Gai. I told him" Iruka sighed as he shook his head. He snapped his head up with a little worried expression on his face. "Don't get me wrong, he was a decent kid, nice enough too, but-"

"He is not well equipped by academy standards to become a ninja" Neji finished.

"From what I'm told Lee now excels as a Taijutsu specialist" Iruka paused. Neji nodded knowing exactly what he was implying about the rest of his skill set.

"But what happens when the poor kid gets hit with a Genjutsu?" Iruka went on. "I mean sure. When he's in a team, one of them could disrupt his chakra flow. But what if he's on his own? For that matter why should his team be in constant danger from having to cover for him?"

All the anger Neji had planned to vent on this man was now swiftly dissipating like wasted chakra as he asked the obvious question.

"So why did he graduate?" Neji asked, actually a little concerned that the academy were aware of his glaring shortcomings and still did nothing. He had heard that he was wasn't even good at Taijutsu back then.

Iruka scowled before answering, "Two people"

"Which two?"

"Maito Gai and Mizuki. You know the first. He took a shine to Lee and put pressure on us to pass him". He paused with a slightly concerned look before continuing, "Jōnin-Sensei can have rather a lot of sway in such matters."

Neji gave a stoic nod in agreement.

"And this… Mizuki?"

"Mizuki was my senior. He made the call in the end." He gave a helpless shrug. "I still didn't have much influence here back then.

Iruka cocked his head "Come to think of it, I still don't know why he did it. Then again, if Lee's still around and kicking so maybe they saw something I didn't"

"I think he can still kick, yes_" _Neji said absent minded as he took all this information in.

He was going to keep an eye on this… Mizuki.

_ "_Anyway, let's get you set up". Iruka said as he started to walk, prompting Neji to follow._ "_It's already late, so there's not much use in starting properly yet, but I can hand you some of the resources that I've put aside for you based on those... notes Gai gave me. That way you can have something to do over the weekend if you like"

"His notes present a problem?" Neji asked, picking up on the manner in which they were referenced.

"Are you kidding?" Iruka asked, almost incredulous. "His reports are like a cypher. Its taken years for me and some of the other shinobi to put together enough overlaying Intel to differentiate between the different types of _youth_ Gai writes about, and even then it seems to vary regarding how '_hot the flames burn_' or something"

Neji wasn't sure what was more astonishing. The fact that Gai got away with being that ludicrous to so many busy shinobi or that said shinobi had actually pulled together to make some kind of cheat sheet to understand him.

Iruka led him into a classroom in which he took a varied set of books and documents which had obviously been set aside from the rest, handing them to Neji.

Neji gave a polite "thank you" and walked to leave the classroom, but stopped before turning back to the man he had spoken to comfortably without even realizing it.

"What about now?" Neji asked

"Yes?"

"Are you still not powerful enough to prevent someone ill-equipped from going out into the field?"

"No. I won't let that kind of think happen here now. I was promoted last year on Mizuki 's recommendation. Just after Lee passed actually…" Iruka look contemplative for a second as if he had just had tried for the first time to connect the two events. His eyes snapped back to Neji's.

Neji again thanked him for the books and left.

_I'm definitely keeping an eye on this Mizuki _

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_A/N_

[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]

_And that would be it for this chapter. Shorter than the last but that's because i had to split up what was meant to be two chapters. _

_Same message as before. Review I'll explain/ improve as best I can._

_Q and A  
_

_Ive answered my one reviewer so far, which was more like a question really. (not that I'm complaining this much is awesome for the few hours up.)_

_The only thing I can think of is why Iruka has not asked about the incident. I'll answer that proper soon but I've already given hints. _

_Also I know I'm indulging in a lot of Neji narration, but in my defense, I'm really enjoying it... I was sure that sounded better in my head_

_Proof read but its pretty late over here so there's a decent chance i missed something. Do point out any mistakes (unless its in the A/N section or the disclaimer, in which case i really don't care)_

_That's all for now :-)_


	3. Chapter 2 - Out In The Cold

Despite claims to the contrary, Naruto still isn't mine.

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Chapter 2 – Out In the Cold.

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"Trust dies but mistrust blossoms."  
―Sophocles

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Neji had finally convinced himself to visit the hospital.

It hadn't taken long for him to admit to himself that all the reservation he had regarding Lee's worth as a ninja meant nothing in the face of the fact that he had attacked him... while on a mission... with a chakra enforced blow.

_Very well, I shall, apologize for injuring him, then bow out respectfully, wishing him well. No need to get dramatic. Although I'm sure Lee will probably try to do that for me._

According to the nurses Neji had spoken to before heading up, Lee was recovering very well_ (which Neji thanked every deity under and including the sun for as it averted the wrath of Gai). _Lee was apparently geared towards a 'positive recovery mind-set'. Neji not care to know what that meant, but chose to interpret it as a good thing

Neji had, overheard what he assumed to be a doctor talking to Lee while walking towards his room'_._

"We can do it" the doctor enthusiastically declared.

"I'll be Better, stronger and faster than before!" Came a frighteningly familiar voice.

"We have the technology!".

He didn't get close to the door of Lee's room before Tenten had come out. She stared at him for a moment, obviously surprised that he'd shown up. Neji understood, he was rather surprised too.

"Just go" she said.

_What?_

_Perhaps she had misread his intentions. Yes that was probably it._

"Tenten, I'm here to apologise to Lee for my actions"

"Just. Go". Her tone sounded just like like when…

_'Goodbye Neji'_

He stood there for a moment, before realising that this was really as far as he was going to get. He had angered and/or hurt all the people in the room she was blocking that were not staff. None of them cared for any kind of apology or final goodbye. He'd also made sure to raise his voice when he spoke to Tenten to the level he was sure Lee would be able to hear him.

_If he wants to hear me he'll call me out._

_Neji just stood for a moment._

Silence.

_I suppose not then_

He bowed and then turned to leave.

_Apologise, bow then leave. That's what I came here to do and that's what happened. _

This was fine. They weren't his teammates anymore anyway and he'd made his attempt at a formal apology. The fact that he'll probably never speak to anyone of those people again was irrelevant now.

_He felt strange. Kind of… ill _

_Excellent, now I've caught something from this blasted place _

**_'Just'_**

**_ 'Go'_**

The words were still echoing within him

_I think I dislike hospitals _

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_[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]_

_A/N_

_This is the other part that was to be in chapter to but then wasn't. Here it is. Next chapter you get some of the main character. Maybe. _

_you know what to do._

_That's all folks :-)_


	4. Chapter 3

Naruto is not mi- (see Chapter-1)

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**_Just_**

**_Go_**

_The words were still echoing within him _

_I think I dislike hospitals _

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Chapter 3 – Intelligence and motivation sold separately

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"I have great faith in fools - self-confidence my friends will call it."  
-Edgar Allan Poe

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_Well, its time._

Neji passed into the academy, navigating his way around some of the younger ninja in training who were already complaining about Mondays.

He had found Iruka in the teachers' lounge, speaking to a soft voiced man with lavender coloured hair. Neji was about to interrupt when the other man did it for him.

"Ah, I see your mitigating circumstance is here" he remarked rather coyly .

Iruka bowed his head while apologising. "I'm sorry Mizuki…"

_Ah, so this is Mizuki_

"…I'll make it up to you. I'll buy you some ramen later?"

Both Neji and Mizuki looked at him with the same bewildered expression before Mizuki began chuckling. "I think you've been hanging around Naruto too much Iruka, that only really works on him."

Iruka blushed a bit while laughing awkwardly, "Hehe... sorry."

"You can pick up one of my classes later alright? Then well be even"

"Alright"

Mizuki walked past Neji. It took him a moment to realize that the lavender haired teacher had not made a sound while moving, even while appearing so casual.

_Why would an academy teacher be trying to mask their presence here?_

Something to ponder...

"Neji"

He pulled himself from his musings to address his teacher. "Yes Iruka… sensei?" He wasn't exactly sure how to address the man considering the abnormality of their circumstances.

Iruka chuckled, "now now, there won't be any need for that. I'm just your supplementary teacher. How did you find the material by the way?"

"I've read them and I understand what they are getting at…"

_Not that Gai could have been any less obvious. Most of them were about inter-personal relations and teamwork, with just enough tactics sprinkled on to make it look legitimately professional._

_"_Hmmm,I think I get what you're going at" Iruka mused before shooting him a contemplative look, "which is why I'm going to be treating you a little differently than other returners"

"Oh?"

"I've put together a timetable for you. Most of your work, you'll be doing alone. I mean, you're miles ahead of my current students. Teaching you together in most situations would be detrimental to everyone.

_He displays the same concerns for Lee that I had, speaks to me as an equal despite obviously being of higher rank ans now he's letting me serve out my punishment in relative quite and solitude. Where was this man when I was in the academy the first time?_

"Of course, totally isolating you wouldn't be too clever either. I mean you're going to be working with two of my graduates. I'll have you in class for demonstrations and sparing matches. Maybe a few other classes too."

"That sounds fine."

"But Neji, there is one favour I'd like to ask of you in return."

_Ah, of course people are always looking for something when they're nice to a Hyūga_.

Neji prepared his standard response to_ these_ kind of requests. "You should be aware that I am merely a Branch-Member of my clan. I have little swa-"

"I want you to look at one of my students with your Byakugan" Iruka interrupted, looking more than a little offended at what he'd been cut off from trying to imply.

_Well I wasn't expecting that._

"Who?"

"I'll introduce them later, but it involves a a little theory I have"

"You could have asked my cousin to do this, could you not?" Surely Hinata wasn't _that _frighteningly incompetent.

"I have. She's always been timid, especially regarding the use of her Byakugan, but when I asked her about this student she…" Iruka trailed off as rather knowing smirk played across his face.

Neji prompted the man to continue.

"She… what?"

"…Passed out."

"Passed out?"

Iruka sighed, "I do worry about her."

_You and the rest of my clan_

"Very well, I consent"

Iruka smiled, "alright then, let's get you started off with…"

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One hour later and Neji had finished working on tactical theory regarding various theoretical situations. It wasn't his favorite kind of activity, but he had to admit the mental exercise would be useful when presented with real life versions of these situations.

_Assassinations, rescue missions, kidnapping, escapes…_

Iruka had come and gone from the room, barely needing to do more than set him new tasks. This led Neji to his current situation. Alone, while he waited for Iruka to return with his next exercise. But something was bothering him. Not something current. Something he'd heard earlier, but didn't pick up on.

He was replacing the current rookie of the year…

They would be on his old team and he would probably be on whichever one they were originally intended for.

_Why is this bothering me! It won't be much different from when I graduated the first time. I was Rookie of the year then too and…_

_…No…_

_…They balance the teams out…_

_…NO…_

_…That's how he got Lee on his team… and if he was Rookie of the year this time too then…_

_NONONONONO!_

_Another one... For another year!_

"YOU EVIL SCHEMING LEOTARD WEARING FREAK!"

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Gai was at Training ground 3 where he'd taken a cast-wearing Lee for some light exercise while he recovered. After all, he couldn't let his glorious student get too out of shape.

He suddenly felt felt a warm sensation wash through him.

He knew.

He didn't know how.

But somehow...

He knew.

"Gai sensei?"

"My glorious and youthful student! What it is you wish to ask of me?"

"Why… why are you smiling like that?"

He really was grinning like a mad man. Well… a madder man.

"BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT RIGHTEOUS YOUTHFUL JUSTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN MY STUDENT!"

"Of course Gai sensei! I should have known!"

Lee obliviously didn't know. He was just caught up in his sensei's fire of youth! not that Gai could fault him for that! That was what made him such a wonderful student!

"LEE!"

"GAI SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI SENSEI!"

Many manly tears were shed that day.

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"Neji Are you alright!? I heard the shouting and…" Iruka looked at his kinda-sorta student. He appeared to be in shock. He looked hollow, almost... empty.

"Iruka?"

"Yes?"

"Does the current student with the lowest grades in your class wear anything resembling green spandex leotard?"

"Um... no" Iruka answered. His tone of voice inferring all the confusion such a question warranted.

_Well, at least_ _there was that_.

"He does wear and a bright orange jumpsuit though…"

_Why does fate hate me? _

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After recovering from his breakdown, which henceforth, Neji would refer to as his 'moment of concern'. Iruka had let him out for lunch break.

Neji went out. Unlike the other students, he was allowed outside of the academy grounds and decided to grab lunch at a local stall, which turned out to be selling dango. Passing a purple haired woman as he left, he tried one.

_Mmm, passable, but a bit too sweet for my tastes_

As he approached the academy, finishing the last of his lunch, he noticed he was not the only one returning.

"Shhhhhh!"

Shhhhhh! Yourself Naruto!"

"Both of you troublesome morons need to shut up before you get us caught"

Neji activated his Byakugan.

_There you are_.

Neji spotted four human sized chakra sources and one smaller one, probably a dog (_maybe a cat?_) making their way through a hole in the academy fencing. Normally, he would've just ignored such childish antics. If anything, it was good training. But he remained on one of them.

But one of them...

His chakra coils were the biggest he'd ever seen!. They were absolutely _saturated_ with the chakra. He didn't even seem to be putting any effort into maintaining it!

_That's natural!?_

After tearing himself from his gaping, he started walking towards the academy again.

_Who in God's name has that much chakra?_

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Shikamaru wasn't in the mood for this childish crap. If Naruto and Kiba didn't keep it down they were going to get their asses caught!

_Troublesome morons, can't they see that even Chōji's being quiet. He's not even eating!_

"Whataya mean me a'n Akamaru aren't being quiet" Kiba hissed

"I didn't say anything about Akamaru. He's awesome, it's just you that sucks." Naruto wisecracked. Akamaru gave a quiet but approving nod.

_Come on Kiba don't rise to the bait, we can still sneak back.  
_

"What the hell do you know about stealth Naruto…"

_The dog bit. Who saw that coming?_

"…I mean look at ya. You're wearing an _orange jumpsuit_! What the hell kinda stealth you call that?!

"Hard mode" Naruto returned with a massive grin that showed off his canine teeth. It made him look a little feral.

Shikamaru was getting pissed off now. "Will you troublesome morons keep it quiet until were back inside? If we get caught Iruka's going to…"

He stopped, frowning at his fellow classmates as they...

_Why are they all looking at me like he's right...  
_

"Don't stop on my account Shikamaru. By all means, I'm open to suggestions"

_...Behind me._

_._

_._

* * *

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.

Naruto waited outside the teachers' lounge with his co-conspirators.

_It wasn't my fault! We were supposed to be back ages ago but Chōji just had to get another helping. I mean I wanted one too but that's not the point!_

"This is your fault Naruto" Kiba growled from the chair next to his.

Naruto's head snapped at his accuser. "Like hell it is! I bet your smell tipped him off if your mouth didn't!"

"That it! Akamaru get em!"

The tiny dog leapt from Kiba, ready to 'attack'. Unfortunately, before he reached Naruto, he'd veered off to eat the dried meat the orange clad boy had thrown to Akamaru.

"Traitor!"

"Your just mad cuz he likes me more"

Akamaru gave a small yip of approval. Obviously lobbying for Kiba to carry around delicious bits of food for him too. Naruto figured that everyone should. It always worked for him with bigger and meaner dogs.

"Buddy! I thought we were partners!" Kiba said in mock betrayal. Akamaru responded by darting back to Kiba and dropping the meat on his lap, looking up at him expectantly.

"That's not what I meant" Kiba wined helplessly

"Hey, dontch'ya know Kiba?" Kiba looked back to Naruto.

"huh?"

"Only real friends share food" Naruto beamed. Well at least that's what he thought. Chōji was also nodding in approval from across the room.

Kiba was apparently appeased by this as well. His argument with Naruto forgotten, he started scratching Akamaru behind the ears while they all waited for their punishment.

"You're all troublesome idiots" Shikamaru groaned.

Nobody was listening.

* * *

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A/N

[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]

That's it for this chapter. As always please review :-)


	5. Chapter 4

"You're all troublesome idiots" Shikamaru groaned.

Nobody was listening.

* * *

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Chapter 4 - Revelations and Ramen

If you thought better of me, you would not be so surprised"

― Jacqueline Carey, Kushiel's Chosen

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Monday – 4pm

Neji had spent the best part of his day at the academy. The first of many, serving out a punishment that he could not deny. His crime could've been career suicide. He was prepared to suffer thorough his sentence to fix his mistake.

To Neji's complete and utter surprise however, his time spent here so far, short as it was, had been…

_Pleasant_

He'd been placed in an empty room and given copious tasks in the form of theoretical mission situations. When his answers were returned to him, he received constructive criticism on a level that truly allowed him to understand and improve upon his existing skills, something he had not anticipated when he stepped through the gates this morning.

He was pleased to be on his own. He had initially dreaded being stuck in a class full of moronic academy students giving him looks for whatever reason. They'd probably be asking him irritating questions or just annoying him in general. Granted it wouldn't last. He'd been told that he would be brought in for sparing sessions and demonstrations, which he didn't mind too much. The only real interaction he'd had with anyone so far was with one man.

_Iruka_

He liked this man.

No, He admired this man.

His role was a perfect fit for him. He'd obviously reached the extent of his abilities after a certain amount of time as a Chūnin and had realised it was not his fate to become a great ninja.

Instead he'd become a great teacher

No, '_great_' only informs one of his abilities. It doesn't properly inform one of who he is.

Iruka loved his job. Anyone who heard him talk about his work for more than twenty seconds would pick up on that. In the short conversation they were now engaging in, he had practically gushed over his students like an older brother beaming with pride. Even when he appeared angry over the antics of some of his students, who he'd caught sneaking back into the academy, he had dropped a compliment or two about how impressive it was that they were able to sneak out in the first place.

_So they were caught_

"I mean most of the staff are Chūnin! I'll need to ask them how they did it later." Iruka said with a chuckle.

His love for his role in life had been a source of envy for Neji.

_It's like fate had sat down with the man and allowed him to choose his destiny. There's no other way someone can be that happy with their role on life._

"Neji?"

"Yes?"

"Do you remember that favour I mentioned earlier today?"

"I believe you asked me to observe one of your students with my Byakugan. Something regarding a theory you have if I recall correctly?"

He still found that odd. Not only that his Byakugan was needed for a student but that his cousin had passed out at the prospect of doing what he was about to do.

_Does he possess some kind of observation resistance?_

Iruka nodded, slightly impressed at Neji's memory of the talk, unaware of his concerns. "That's right. I don't suppose you have some time at 5 do you?"

Neji arched an eyebrow. "I was under the impression that the academy closed at 5."

"The school day ends then yes, but its remains open for a few hours after that." He gave a sigh that Neji would have usually thought reserved for more aged men. "He's one of the students I caught earlier today. Him and three others are being held behind for an extra hour of jutsu practice as punishment."

"Tedious and potentially exhausting for the punishment, yet productive for the good of the students." Neji mused aloud, not really expecting an answer.

"Exactly", Iruka agreed. "Of course if you're busy, we can do it anoth-"

"I'll do it" Neji spoke quickly

_And if in the process I also happen to glance at the chakra freak I glimpsed earlier, well that can't be, helped now, can it?_

"Great!" Iruka exclaimed. "We'll be in room 5D at 5. Remember that room. It will be the one that you'll be going to when I have you interact with others"

Neji nodded. He still needed to iron out some problems he was having with his new jutsu. He'd gotten the spinning defence part almost perfectly; he just had to find a way to stop himself from falling over out of sheer dizziness afterwards. Currently, If used it in in a combat situation its present form, he would probably either embarrass himself or get killed, probably both. He wished he had someone to ask, but he'd been working on it secretly. Branch members were technically not supposed to be learning this move. Not that that was going to stop him. He would get this over with quickly. He'd confirm or deny whatever theory Iruka had and then return to his own jutsu practice.

_It's not like this will take all day._

* * *

Monday – 5:07pm

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

"… Neji?"

* * *

Monday – 5:00

"Mphh, I'd beat both of you up if it wouldn't be so damn troublesome"

Naruto and Kiba chuckled as they both formed seals and Kawarimi'd with their respective logs. Of course this was nothing to them; it's not as if either of them were ever going to get tired. Well, Kiba might towards the end of the hour they were stuck doing this, but Naruto never got tired, period.

_Bastard_

Shikamaru however, while having good, nearly great control, merely had an OK sized chakra pool. Not bad by any stretch of the word. That is unless one compared him to the current monsters he was in forced training with. Kiba's chakra was just flat out big and the Inuzuka clan's stamina training probably the had something to do with it.

Chōji' was bigger by default. On top of that, his clan had some way of linking the calories they took in to their charka. It was why they were all typically chubby. Their bigger techniques _literally_ made them lose weight. If they didn't eat so much there was a danger that they'd starve mid battle. Not that anyone outside of their clan and _very_ close friends such as himself knew this.

_What some of the girls in my class would do for that kind of technique…_

Shikamaru supressed a shudder as he looked at the last, and most perplexing of the monsters.

_Naruto has no clan and hence, no clan techniques. Stamina training is a possibility, but orphans such as him would be stuck without assistance, in which case he should, at most, be just bellow Kiba. But I've never seen the guy run out of chakra. Hell, the only time I've even seen him tired was when he fell asleep during history._

Naruto was turning into a mystery. Shikamaru hated mysteries.

He looked at him again. The idiot had Kawarimi'd with Kiba yet not Akamaru, causing the dog to fall a couple of inches onto the blonde's head. Kiba had furiously tried to do the same to return his partner but his jutsu backfired. He winced as his chakra flared and dissipated within him like it was angry for being wasted.

"Hey! My control is way better than yours! How come you can do that and I can't?" Kiba barked.

"I dunno." Naruto paused before putting his hands behind his head and flashing another feral grin. "Maybe it's just cuz I'm awesome" Akamaru barked angrily at the surprise separation from his partner. Naruto's face lit up, "Oh right!" He stuffed his hands into one of his jumpsuit's pockets and pulled out another piece of dried meat, passing it up to the dog on his head. Akamaru yipped in approval, before jumping off to return to his partner.

"He's shorter than you", Shikamaru interrupted.

"Hey!" Naruto shot in offense while Kiba snickered.

Shikamaru sighted. "Kiba, you see Naruto, right?" He nodded, not quite sure where he was going with this, but listened anyway. Unlike the rest of the class and probably even the teachers, these three knew that Shikamaru was smart and that you shouldn't disagree with him, because when you did, you were usually wrong.

"You're at least an inch or two taller than him. When Naruto Kawarimi'd with you, Akamaru just dropped the distance between his head and yours. But, when you tried with him, your jutsu backfired when your body tried to take up the space that Akamaru was already filling, at least in part"

Kiba and Naruto just stared at him blankly.

"Idiots…" Shikamaru face-palmed, "Kiba was trying to take up space occupied by Akamaru. The jutsu reacted negatively to that because you were only trying to replace Naruto, not him as well, so it backfired."

"Ohhhhh" chorused Kiba and Naruto as they shared a moment of realisation

"You know Shika, you're really good at explaining stuff!" Naruto exclaimed

"Yes Naruto, he is" came a voice by the door

They all spun to see Iruka coming through the door, followed by some guy their age with long black hair.

"I think we'll be having a talk later about why your grades are so low Shikamaru." Iruka beamed; obviously ready to put pressure on him now that he knew he had it in him. Iruka hadn't wanted to put too much pressure on him to live up to the Nara clan's ridiculous intellectual standards and had gone a bit easy on him.

Now though…

Shikamaru knew that look. That was his mother's 'I know you can do better than you pretend you can, so get ready for me to bring it out of you, even if I have to drag it out kicking and screaming' look.

_Dammit Naruto! Do you know how troublesome you just made my life?_

"Anyway!" Iruka clapped his hands together. I'd like you all to meet Neji Hyūga. He's currently in one of my other classes, but will soon be joining ours from time to time". The black haired boy Neji nodded in confirmation before glancing at all four of them one by one, then stopping on Naruto. His eyes widened with a look of pure despair. "Not another one…" he whispered

_OK, that was weird._

"Now." Iruka started. "We're changing exercises. You just finished with the Kawarimi. I would've had you practice Henge." His head snapped around to Naruto, "But **some people** can't be trusted with that, can they Naruto?

"Awwww Iruka sensei. You didn't seem to say much about it last time" Naruto returned with that toothy grin.

"That's cuz he nearly passed out last time." Kiba interrupted with barely suppresses giggling. "Hehe, I can't believe he actua-hehehe actualy got a nose blead!" Kiba, Chōji' and Naruto broke down into fits of laughter while Shikamaru just snickered a little.

_That was pretty funny._

"No ramen for you tonight then..."

That was all it took for Naruto change his attitude. His expression was of utter shock and horror.

_That's pretty funny too_

"B-but… ramen. Don't do this to me Iruka sensei!"

"… unless you try your hardest to perform the clone jutsu" Iruka explained with a victorious grin on his face.

_Well someone's over a barrel. It's like of someone threatened to steal all the clouds in the world or something._

Shikamaru shivered at the thought.

"I will Iruka sense! I'll definitely get that stupid jutsu!" Neji scowled at this. But then he glanced at Iruka sensei for a moment and his face returned to its previously neutral expression. He whispered something in their sensei's ear, eliciting a nod from the man.

_What was that about?_

Naruto darted to the centre of the room before he started making seals. "Ram, Snake, Tiger" Naruto muttered as he went through them. He started channelling chakra, but it was obvious to Shikamaru that he was either doing it wrong or trying too hard as sweat was visibly forming on his face.

_That jutsu's meant to actually take up the least chakra out of the three isn't it?_

Neji's eyes narrowed for a moment as all the veins surrounding them became protruded. His eyes then visibly bulged as he leapt back in astonishment.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Neji screeched.

"… Neji?" Iruka asked, obviously concerned at the boys reaction. Hell, they all were.

_If he's a Hyūga and he did what I think he just did, then… what did he see?_

_._

_._

* * *

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Monday – 5:05pm

Neji, in a pleasantly suprising turn of events, had run into Iruka on his way to room 5D and the two of them had arrived at the class together, walking in on one of detainees inside explaining the inner workings of Kawarimi. Iruka had then proceeded to acknowledge the boy's level of intelligence and pledged to assign him work more suited to his level of intellect. A measure Neji approved of, even if, going by the look of abject horror on his face, the boy named Shikamaru obviously didn't.

Scanning the room Neji noticed than all the detained students look relatively plain. And then he got to the Blond in the Orange jumpsuit…

_It's worse than I thought._

His attention began returning to Iruka as he became flustered regarding some mishap with Henge.

_Well. It's still not as bad as green spandex_

"…I'll definitely get that stupid jutsu!". Neji gawked for a moment. It was only a few weeks until the Genin exams! How had he not gotten that yet!? If this was the person who was due to be on his team then he was…

_No. that won't happen. If he's not a competent ninja then Iruka won't let him pass. I'm leaving this place with two competent teammates, even if one of them is at the bare minimum, that'll at least be an improvement from last time._

Neji thought he might as well ask now that he was here. He began walking over to Iruka as the Orange clad boy named Naruto darted over to to the centre of the room. "Is he the one you want me to observe with my Byakugan?" He whispered from next to the man.

Iruka nodded.

Neji activated his Byakugan and… It was him! The one he saw earlier!. He had only gotten a glimpse before but now... This was insane!

Naruto began to form a ram seal- and Should Neji really have been standing so close to him?

He appeared to be trying to channel chakra for the jutsu. Suddenly, it burst through his body. More chakra than Neji thought he could ever see one person ever have, let alone put into one technique! As the rapidly deconstructing jutsu tried to form, Neji leapt back. His chakra looked like it was enveloping the air around him. He was wasting so much of it and he barely even looked uncomfortable! In one technique he had used up nore chakra than Tenten had in total!

"…Neji?"

He slowly turned his head round to Iruka who looked more than a little concerned.

_And so he should! If he had gleaned even half as much as my eyed showed me then everyone should be concerned about… why is everyone staring at me? Perhaps I should ask._

"Why is everyone staring at me?"

Iruka, a little off balance, began, "Well, Neji…" was as far as he got before being interrupted by the Inuzuka.

"You watched Naruto start off his jutsu but before he messed it up like he always does, you distracted him by jumping back and being all, like 'WHAT THE FUCK!'" Kiba answered, leaving Iruka a little put out.

Neji scowled at the boy. He vaguely recalled expressing his surprise at Naruto's really really reall… well there was a lot of chakra. But in such a crass way? Surely not.

Neji turned back to Iruka. "Was that really what I said?"

The teacher slowly nodded as if more surprised by his reaction than…

_They didn't see it._

_They didn't know._

"What did you see?" The question had come from the Nara. He'd at least figured out the source of his concern if not why the source concerned him. Iruka's expression asked the same question.

"I-he-the…" Neji took a breath, briefly glancing at Naruto and the boy with a dog on his head who just looked lost at the entire ordeal. Recovering from what he was now referring to as 'Hinata moments', He began trying to think of a way to approach the situation. He turned to Iruka, he might as well start by answering the question he had probably brought him here for. 'Why is my student killing what's supposed to be the easiest jutsu out there?' He'd even heard of chakra-talented merchants learning it to escape bandits.

"He's using too much chakra for the jutsu", Neji nearly laughed after he heard himself speak.

_Yes and the Kyūbi damaged a building or two…_

"Thought so…" Iruka muttered before he snapped himself out of his musings and asked the obvious question. "That doesn't quite explain your… distressed reaction Neji".

"It was rather a lot of chakra" Neji deadpanned as he veered round to Naruto. He knew how to get to the bottom of this now. "Naruto how much of your chakra did you use?" He asked.

"How much?"

"Yes" Neji affirmed.

"Like… some?"

_Oh joy. Thank you for that in depth response._

"I was referring to how much you used in relation to how much it takes you to use before you get tired"

"You can get tired using jutsu?"

Neji's jaw just hung open for a moment, probably two.

Naruto had made two things obvious. One, that he was confused, two, he must have paid absolutely no attention during class.

Neji eventually inclined his head back around to Iruka who was still recovering from his own shock.

Neji sighed, "I believe I'm beginning to make myself understood."

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* * *

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Monday – 5:10pm

Naruto was confused.

Well… ok, he was always a bit confused. He never really got stuff, like why the villagers treated him differently or why Ramen just tasted _soooo good. _

This was new though. This Neji guy had jumped back from him like he'd grown another head or something. Him and the others, even Iruka sensei thought that was weird, he was with them up until then. But then Neji had started asking him questions about chakra and how much he had.

_You can run out of chakra. OHHHHH! Maybe I've just been using too little for the clone jutsu and that's why it wasn't working! Duh! I'm suck a idiot sometimes._

Iruka stepped forward. "Naruto, are you saying that you've never felt tired after doing jutsu? I've sometimes left you on your own for Kawarimi practice and that one takes up the most chakra, how about then.

"Na, I just feel kind of relieved. It's kinda like... you know when you really need to go to the bathroom? Then like, you finally do and it's like-"

"-We get it Naruto" Iruka interrupted quickly. "Uh, why don't you try the jutsu again, only this time put less chakra into it?"

"Less? I was gonna use more! I mean if it's not making me tired then I should try ta-."

"-YOU CAN USE MORE?!"

Everyone turned to look at Neji again. He looked a little embarrassed. "*ahem* what I meant to ask was whether that was really not the maximum amount of chakra you could put into the technique."

_Huh, weird guy._

"Um, yea I guess."

"Have you tried using less"

"One time yea, but it feels really weird. I think that means I'm doing it wrong."

"Try again" Iruka interrupted.

"Huh?"

"The clone technique" Iruka answered

"Oh. Ok!" Naruto made the seals again and channeled chakra like before. The Neji guy flinched but didn't jump away or anything this time. His eyes had gotten weird again…

*POOF!*

In front of Naruto was yet another of his abominations. Kiba started laughing at it and Naruto honestly couldn't blame him. Well, he'd prank him later for laughing, but only out of principle. He had a reputation to maintain after all.

Just looking at the thing was hard for Naruto. It was lying on the floor, as if it were on it's death-bed but that wasn't the worst part.

_It has no colour! It's actually in BLACK and WHITE! Cloths, skin… everything!_

"Now…" Iruka began, startling Naruto out of his depression over his failed technique. "…I want you to do that exactly the same but with less chakra."

"How much less?"

"A lot"

_Well if he thinks it'll help then… ok_

Naruto formed the seals again, trying to put less into it.

_Half will be good, that's like, a lot less right?_

Smoke poofed into existence in front of him to reveal… another failure! Look at him! Still on the ground like he's terminally ill in… in…

_"_In colour! Iruka sensei! It's in freaking colour!"

"I noticed. Naruto, how much chakra did you use compared to last time?

"I think like… half?"

Iruka gawked again. What was it with people doing confusing stuff that he didn't understand?

"Alright Naruto," Iruka began, "I want you to try one more time, but with as little chakra as possible... alright?

"Whatever you say sensei…"

Another rush of hand seals. He tried to limit the chakra as much as possible. But the bathroom explanation came into play again as at was like trying to stop half way through, but he kept at it.

And… success! He had a clone! And it was standing! In colour!

Naruto's clone then proceeded to gag like it was about to throw up and Naruto was seriously glad that it wasn't actually real. It suddenly disappeared as a kunai passed through it from his sensei. "Again with less chakra" Iruka said impatiently.

"That's it" Naruto said with a helpless shrug.

"What?"

"That's the smallest amount of chakra I can put into it. It was really hard. But did you see Iruka sensei!? I made a clone and it didn't look like it was about to die!"

"It also looked like it'd eaten some bad ramen…" Iruka trailed off, like he was thinking of something else.

Now Naruto was even more confused. He had less and less idea what going on, even if his clones did suck less now. He needed at least one of his questions answered so he went with the most important one.

"Iruka sensei?"

"Hmmm?"

"You can have **bad ramen?**_"_

* * *

_A/N: DONE!_

_[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]_

_As you may have noticed this chapter was at around three times longer than my others and over half the size of the overall fic so far as of before it's upload. I'm proud of this. Yay me. _

_Quick response to those of you who reviewed (not just for this chapter):_

_SoulNinjas__ – Thanks, I'm looking forward to seeing where this leads me too._

_SuperVegitoFAN__ – Thank you twice for both reviews:_

_1) Not saying I have anything against them just not now. Maybe some lime later if the situation demands. _

_2) Yes, that was a TFS DBZ abridged reference. Well spotted. There will probably be more. _

_ToReviewAndVote__ – I've already answered your question, but hey, a shout out to you too._

_While we're going on about references. A shout out to the fanfic Team 8 is due. Honestly, i tried but the bathroom explanation is probably the best we are ever going to hear. Go read it. its good and not hard to find as it's the most fav'd naruto fanfic on the site as far as i know (which is pretty fucking impressive if you think about it). _

_I really did not expect to be coming up on 500 (488) views already. Is that normal? It's my first fic to I'm kind of bowled over by this. I freely admit just sitting yesterday and refreshing the "manage stories" page to watch my view count go up._

_On a side note, who do you think should be the main characters' sensei in this fic? Should I change it at all for that matter?_

_I'm going to make sure I hit 30,000 words before I let myself start any other fics as I'm kind of enjoying this and I've got other ideas which could be fun to write, Who knows… you might even enjoy reading it too._

_Also,quick shout out to readers who are currently writing themselves. Don't you feel like the Blue line in spellchecker on fanfic (complex expression). It's like they're saying 'are you sure you know what the big word means?'_

_REVIEWS AND OPINIONS PLEASE._

_P.S. Grammer problems exist for me as English (UK) and English (US) spellcheckers clash. Sorry if don't pick up on the same word being spelled correctly in different types of English. I have enough problems trying to catch flat out mistakes._

_Enough rambling._

_Later._


	6. Chapter 5

I do not own Naruto and I'm not making any money from this.

* * *

"That's the smallest amount of chakra I can put into it. It was really hard. But did you see Iruka sensei!? I made a clone and it didn't look like it was about to die!"

"It also looked like it'd eaten some bad ramen…" Iruka trailed off, like he was thinking of something else.

Now Naruto was even more confused. He had less and less idea what going on, even if his clones did suck less now. He needed at least one of his questions answered so he went with the most important one.

"Iruka sensei?"

"Hmmm?"

"You can have **bad ramen**?"

* * *

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Chapter 5 – The Unexpected

"Life's under no obligation to give us what we expect."

― Margaret Mitchell

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* * *

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Neji was rather surprised to find himself invited out for a meal by Iruka as thanks for taking the time to observe Naruto, as well as for the… other complications. The orange jumpsuit wearing boy had been invited along too under the pretence that they were celebrating his progress with the clone jutsu. Neji however, was under the impression that they saw almost anything as an excuse to eat ramen. Better clones? Celebrate with ramen. Didn't fall asleep in class today? Reward with ramen.

Having a rough day?

Don't worry.

You know Why?

Yep.

Ramen.

Neji had remained quiet for the duration of the walk from the academy to the ramen stall they were going to. This was mainly because Iruka had become embroiled in a conversation with Naruto about the intricacies of his escape from the academy earlier that day with his three co-conspirators and he was happy to let them go on without getting more involved in the conversation than the odd inclination of his head to show that he was paying attention (even if only barely).

The other reason was that something was obviously wrong and it wasn't just Naruto's insane chakra antics. Not that that wasn't a cause for concern too. Iruka, to everyone's irritation except Naruto's (because he knew he was getting ramen), had declared that detention was cancelled and that they could all leave. This would usually be a cause for celebration as everyone had better things to do. However, after the blonde had displayed a chakra capacity on such a level that he could probably Kawarimi with a building... well... the others, especially the boy named Shikamaru, had been somewhat understandably reluctant to leave.

This was not what was bothering Neji. What was bothering him was almost unnoticeable.

They were _not_ being watched.

At first Neji had chalked this ridiculous sentiment it up to some kind of stress-induced paranoia, God only knew he was under enough of it. But then he started actively paying attention to the villagers, more specifically the adults. Every time their eyes wandered over in their direction, there would be a hint of recognition, followed by an active attempt to pretend that they didn't even know they were there. It was as if they were reprimanding themselves for acknowledging their existence. The only question left, was who and why?

Neji knew it couldn't be him. This had never happened before, even after the incident with Lee, and he hadn't any reason to believe that there was any other cause for such reactions to him.

He briefly considered Iruka. He knew he didn't know much about the man outside of his immediate experience with him. It was possible that he had committed some horrendous action that had stigmatised him in the eyes of society, but Neji ruled this out as unlikely considering that he would have almost certainly been prevented from working with children if that were the case.

This left Naruto, the big orange puzzle. It made sense to an extent. Something had to've happened to have happened to get that much chakra, unless you were in a clan but…

_A clan..._

That could be it. It wasn't a perfect theory yet, but a kekkei genkai would explain so much. The only real problem with that theory back at the academy was that if there really was a kekkei genkai that could give someone that much chakra, then the clan name Uzumaki should have been well known, certainly known by him. Yet, he'd never heard the name before today. However, if said clan had done something to disgrace themselves, treason perhaps, then it was possible for Naruto to carry a kekkei genkai without it having been well known by the younger generations, while being burdened by prejudice from those who remembered whatever it was his clan had done.

Neji's mind snapped from his musings as Naruto's voice rose a few octaves during his grand retelling of his 'escape to lunch'.

"But then Kiba had to go and make a bunch of noise and get us caught!"

"Really now?" Iruka asked while donning a rather knowing smile. "Because by the sound of it, all of you had been less that quiet."

"Hehehe…" Naruto grinned as he scratched the back of his head.

Neji was brought out of his musings as they arrived at a stand with a sign spelling 'Ichiraku Ramen'. They took their seats, with Iruka between Neji and Naruto.

"Oi Iruka sensei, you're paying right? Cuz you know I deserve it after getting the clone jutsu!"

Iruka chuckled at Naruto's enthusiasm. "Alright Naruto. You did make tremendous progress today." He turned to Neji, "Yours is on me today too, alright?"

Neji nodded. Not that he would ever need the man to pay for his meals, but he understood the courtesy involved in the act and decided to let it slide.

A young girl with luscious brown hair walked over to them, stopping on Naruto and Iruka, giving off a warm smile. "It's good to see both of our favourite costumers! I take it you'll both be having your usual?" Two sets of nods came in response, although Naruto had pointed out the need for "extra pork". She nodded gleefully, turning to Neji.

"Ah! A friend of yours?", she asked as she turned to Naruto again. Before the blonde could answer Iruka had interrupted, "actually Ayame, this is Neji Hyūga. He's one of my students. He's been helping me out with some of my more **difficult **students", he gave a brief gesture in Naruto's direction.

"Oi!" Naruto pouted. Though it was blatant that it was all in good nature.

The girl who Iruka had identified as Ayame, turned back to Neji while giving of a slight giggle, "So Neji. What can we get you today?" Neji began to answer before realising he didn't have one. He'd never had ramen before and had no knowledge what to order, or whether he'd like the food at all.

_Might as well just ask._

"What would you recommend?"

"Have you even had ramen before?" Ayame asked. Neji shook his head in response.

"Iruka sensei, h-how is that possible? How can he never've had ramen before?" Naruto's expression was of pure horror. He was acting like he had just found out he was terminally ill. Ayame seemed a little shocked too, before a warm smile spread across her.

"Don't worry. I know just what to give you. Guaranteed satisfaction or Iruka's money back", she giggled.

"Alright"

"Oi, Neji". He turned to Naruto.

"Why'd you jump away from me like I was an exploding tag earlier? That was really weird." Neji scowled in response to this for a moment.

_I'm weird? I'M WEIRD? You're the one who made me lose my composure you chakra freak!_

He couldn't just say _that_. Neji coughed and tried to remain calm as he answered. "As a member of the Hyūga clan, I am in possession of a kekkei genkai. Do you know what that is Naruto?"

"It's like a jutsu that only your family can use right?"

"Correct. My clan's is a dōjutsu known as Byakugan. It allows me to perceive one'e chakra and their chakra coils. It has other abilities as well but those are the one's relevant to my reaction to you today."

"So what? My chakra like… surprised you?"

"In a manner of speaking. Your chakra itself, is the same as anyone else's. what surprised me was the quantity."

"The qua-what?"

Neji gave a pronounced sigh. "You have a lot more chakra than you should have."

"Oh, why didn't you say so?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms in mild annoyance.

A vein became more pronounced on the Hyūga's forehead as he attempted not to snap at the boy.

_Stay calm. Stay calm. He's on good terms with Iruka. It would be detrimental to our relationship if I closed all of Naruto's chakra points, regardless of how much I may enjoy it._

"So like how much chakra do I have then?"

"I am unsure. You channelled so much chakra into to your first your cone technique, it was similar to a flash bomb."

"Oh. Sorry about that. Ah! Ramen's here!" As their meals arrived. Naruto's expression revealed that his attention was now solely focused on the ramen in front of him.

Neji looked at his dish for a moment, unsure of what to make of it. Naruto and Iruka had already begun to dig in. Neji decided to just go for it. It would be unseemly for him to appear reluctant in the face of Iruka's gratitude.

He began eating.

_Hmm. This is rather good_

* * *

Naruto was surprised when Neji had been asked to come with him and Iruka sensei. No one else usually ever came along with them. Well the old man tagged along sometimes, but never someone around his own age. He didn't mind though. After Neji explained why he freaked out when Naruto performed the clone jutsu, he began to put together what had happened back at the academy.

_He must have helped Iruka sensei figure out why I kept on messing up my jutsu!_

Naruto decided that he was ok with this Neji guy until further notice. If Iruka thought he was cool enough to buy ramen then who was he to argue? It was a little known fact that Naruto did his best thinking while eating ramen. During these times, when it was just him, his thoughts and his noodles, he could... think about stuff properly.

_Ahh ramen, is there anything you can't do?_

"Neji", Iruka sensei said. Naruto didn't look up.

"Yes?" came the white eyed boy's response.

"I've been meaning to ask you. I believe I mentioned Gai's less than coherent report?" Neji nodded. This Gai Guy must be stupid or something.

_Hehe, 'Gai Guy' sounds weird in my head_

"He was never absolutely clear on what you did to get sent back to the academy…" Neji scowled at this. Naruto figured it must be a kind of sore subject.

_Huh... __I didn't know you could get sent back._

It was rather an eery prospect for the young blond.

"I made an error in judgement..." Neji started but then changed moods as he went from frustrated to almost solemn. "I... assaulted a teammate."

Iruka just stared at him, his shock at how he could do such a thing being pretty ovbious. Naruto felt lucky that he was eating his ramen. He could just pretend he wasn't listening. He wasn't used to situations like this.

Iruka took a moment before he responded. "May I ask why?"

Neji's expression regained a little of its frustration before he replied to Iruka's question. "My tea- my ex-teammate, Rock Lee, whom I assaulted was a constant source of irritation for me. I spent the best part of a year trying to either ignore him and supress my anger without addressing it. When I finally snapped, I went too far and injured him... badly. It could have ended his career…"

Iruka was was more stern now. Naruto hadn't seen him like this since he had rescued him from those Taki ninja when he was younger…

"Neji…" Iruka began, but Neji cut him off.

"I understand that what I did was unacceptable and that I could have destroyed by own career as well as Lee's in doing what I did. His inability to accept his own fate is no excuse for my actions.

" 'His inability to accept his own fate?' " Naruto spoke up now, wandering what Neji meant by that.

Neji turned from a still concerned Iruka to Naruto. "He could not accept that he was a failure and that that was his fate. He had the foolish notion that after some degree of hard work he could overcome and surpass me"

Naruto scowled at this, "What's wrong with that? There's nothing wrong with working hard to make yourself better?

Neji returned the semi-hostile expression. "He was failure. He only graduated the academy because a Jōnin pulled some strings. His foolish view, that he could change what he is with any amount of hard work is ridiculous."

_That's it!_

"You're wrong!"

* * *

Neji was taken off guard by Naruto's outburst as he had thought him to be too embroiled in his ramen to take notice of anything else in the world.

"Excuse me?

"I said you're wrong. People can change if they work hard enough at it. And that fate crap is just stupid. Even if there is something like fate, why'd you think you were an expert on it? Anyway, if stuff was just gonna happen the same way, no matter what we do, then why would anyone wanna bother doing anything?

Neji was taken off guard by what was, overall, a surprisingly well put together argument.

_Why couldn't he be that perceptive when I was trying to explain things to him earlier?_

The look on Iruka's face was asking the same question to Neji's brief amusement.

"People call me a failure too…"

_Ah, so that was it._

"… But I'm gonna prove them wrong. I'll prove **you **wrong"

_Of course. Even with all that chakra, he has no talent or control to utilise it. What a waste  
_

"Thank you for the ramen Iruka." Neji rose to leave, but turned back to Naruto as he was leaving. "These eyes of mine show me more than chakra. I've seen it. People's limitations are set, fixed and unchangeable. Only a fool wastes their time trying to become something he can never be." He began walking down the street leaving Naruto and Iruka behind.

_What would he know of fate? You can change your appearance, train to improve your skills. But in the end, you will be judged by what you cannot change. By the destiny that had been branded into you from birth. But you wouldn't know much about that… would you Naruto Uzumaki?_

_._

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* * *

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_[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]_

_A/N: I really wanted to do more for this chapter and get more of the story out of the way, but I barely progressed more than a few hours in the story. On the other hand, I really needed to get dome things across about Neji. Yes the Lee incident has shaken him. No he isn't automatically fixed by it and he is still a bit of a dick at the moment. He's smart (Not Shikamaru level, but then, who is?), but still has his fate thing going on. I kinda got the feeling that of I didn't get this across then I'd stray into OOC before enough narrative time had passed before I could ever justify that kind of thing._

_Aside from all that, this chapter also answers the question of why Iruka didn't seem to care about the Lee incident. Answer: He didn't know. Even with the codex, Understanding Gai's reports aren't easy and he didn't pick up on more than a few barebone facts. Kind of hinted at it before, but here it is. Not much more to say about this._

_If you're a Naruto buff, you may have noticed that I have referenced some of Neji's speeches about fate failures and the like. I though it brought him back to the Neji we loved to hate until his beat-down therapy. It also mixed it nicely with one that's less sure of himself as life keeps on throwing him curveballs._

_Another shout out to reviewers SuperVegitoFAN and SoulNinjas as they reviewed again. _

_707 views! And 18 followers! I was not expecting this and I'll try to keep it coming until I'm either finished or we all get bored and go home._

_Still thinking on who their sensei should be_


	7. Chapter 6

Me not owning Naruto hasn't changed... yet.

* * *

"… But I'm gonna prove em wrong. I'll prove **you** wrong"

_Of course, even with all that chakra, he has no talent or control to utilise it._

"Thank you for the ramen Iruka." Neji rose to leave, but turned back to Naruto.

"These eyes of mine show me more than chakra. I've seen. People's limitations are set, fixed and unchangeable. Only a fool wastes their time trying to become something he can never be." He began walking down the street leaving Naruto and Iruka behind.

_What would he know of fate? You can change your appearance, train to improve your skills. But in the end, you will be judged by what you cannot change. By the destiny that had been branded into you from birth. But you wouldn't know much about that… would you Naruto?_

_._

_._

* * *

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Chapter 6 - Caged Birds of a Feather

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"It's never the differences between people that suprise us. It's the things that, against all odds, we have in common."

― Jodi Picoult, House Rules

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* * *

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Two Weeks later – The Genin Exams – The Academy Staff Lounge

"Mizuki, I think we should probably allow Naruto to pass anyway. Due to mitigating circumstances Naruto has difficulty controlling techniques that don't involve more than a certain level of chakra."

"I understand what you're saying Iruka, i really do. Though I'm a little surprised considering how you flew off the handles when I passed Lee"

"That was different and you know-"

"-Yes, yes, I'm aware, and while I'd love to say that you're right, because you are, these are _your_ rules in place and the Hokage says that we have to follow them. He failed the minimum requirement no matter how you try to spin it."

"I... y..yes of course."

"I'm cashing in that class you owe me. Don't worry, I'll talk to Naruto. Oh! By the way how did your test with the Hyūga go?"

"As expected, he passed without incident. Mphh, I'd better be off then; you're class starts in a few minuets."

"Of course."

Iruka closed the door behind him as he left.

_That was close. The plan nearly fell through for a moment there. Well, I guess it's time to go to work._

_._

_._

* * *

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That night – Forest Outskirts

"Finally… done" Neji gasped out, still panting. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this tired.

After his success at the academy, he'd not stayed to find out if Naruto had passed his own exam. Iruka had gotten a little... cold with him after the confrontation with Naruto at Ichiraku's. As such he'd been avoiding both of them outside of the academy, determined not to get involved in another tiff. There no way was he getting involved in the kind of incident that got him sent back to the academy in the first place. Although... certain events had... strained that.

He'd then decided to go to the forest to continue his work on the 'Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven' technique, which he shorthanded as, 'Rotation'. He'd used up most of his chakra practicing, but that didn't matter. He'd finally figured it out. At first Neji couldn't understand why it was supposed to be so hard, '_after all_' he'd figured '_It's only spinning_' Oh how very wrong he'd been. After successfully initiating the jutsu for first time Neji nearly threw up from the dizziness, spending the proceeding five minuets stumbling around like he'd been drinking... heavily. As it turned out, while also expelling chakra from all the chakra points on the user's body, one also needed to focus chakra on both of their inner ears, manipulating their perception to movement to offset the Spatial disorientation. It was ingenious really, which was why he had mastered it.

He'd activated his Byakugan to find the path he'd left on his way into the forest, when Neji noticed something familiar. He'd know that chakra anywhere. It was like a damn beacon.

_Naruto? What's he doing out here?_

He noticed two more chakra sources closing in on him, one tailing the other. Against his better judgement, he decided to find out what was going on and took off after Naruto's chakra signature. while moving, Neji noticed other sources darting in and out of his range of his observation, but couldn't make heads nor tails out of what that meant.

He landed on one of the tree branches around 100 feet away from the three chakra sources which were all together now. The second source Neji finally made out as Iruka, but the third, which had just attacked him, was still unknown. They appeared to have stopped fighting for the moment as if they were engaging in conversation. Neji stalked from tree to tree, hoping to catch what they were saying.

"Naruto! Whatever happens don't give him the scroll!

_Iruka_

"That's a dangerous scroll that has forbidden ninjutsu written inside it! Mizuki used you to get his hands on it!"

_Mizuki! That's the third chakra source!_

As Neji tried to get himself into position for a surprise attack against the lavender haired traitor, Mizuki decided to retort.

"Naruto… There really is no reason for you to have that scroll. In fact..." he trailed off before a flash of inspiration seemed to hit him as a rather snide smile spread across him. "Oh! I know! I'll tell you the truth about 12 years ago! The truth about why_ everyone_ in this village despises you. Why they refuse to so much as even acknowledge your existence!"

_Wait, what? He knows about Naruto's clan?_

"_N..NO! DON'T!"_ screamed an injured Iruka

_Iruka knows too?_

"Naruto", Mizuki began, leaning forward, leering at him as he spoke "You know about 12 years ago, don't you? Well… its closer to 13 really, but you remember the tail about the Demon Fox, right!?" He asked, his voice betraying a tint of hysteria. "Even you must remember that one?! I bet you didn't know that there was a hidden law, created that day. A law which forbids everyone to speak about a certain... something, upon pain of death!

"A..a law? W..what kind of law?" Naruto rasped out.

"HEHEHEHEHE. It's about **you** Naruto. Even now, Iruka would do **anything** to stop me from telling you".

"STOP IT MIZUKI! JUST... JUST STOP!" Iruka begged in absolute horror.

"The rule is that nobody is allowed to talk about," Mizuki took a deep breath. "The fact that YOU ARE THE NINE TAILED DEMON FOX!"

Neji slumped against the tree he was hiding behind. _W..what b..but that's... it's just not…_

"EVERYONE'S BEEN SNEAKING AROUND, KEEPING IT A SECRET. THAT IT WAS SEALED INSIDE YOU WHEN YOU WERE BORN! DIDN'T YOU THINK IT WAS STRANGE? HOW EVERYONE SEEMED TO HATE YOU FOR JUST BEING ALIVE? IRUKA'S THE SAME YOU KNOW? HIS PARENTS WERE KILLED BY THE DEMON FOX! HE HATES YOU JUST AS MUCH AS EVERYONE ELSE! YOU WANT TO BE HOKAGE? NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN! FROM BIRTH YOUR ROLE WAS DECIDED! YOU WOULD BE HATED AND DESPISED!

_N..no this is… Something must be done! Mizuki can't be allowed the scroll! _

Mizuki grabbed one of the arm-length shuriken off his back and prepared to throw. Naruto froze up as his chakra flared in reaction to his turbulent emotions which Neji suspected he would be able to see even without his Byakugan. Iruka began to move, injured as he was to intercept, but at best would only take the hit for him.

_It's now or never, but I barely have enough chakra for one more rotation, if that. Mizuki still hasn't noticed me. _

An simple thought occurred to Neji.

_I could run._

Yes, he could.

_ I mean, what possible reason would I have for saving some failure like that?_

_That's easy.  
_

_It's because... when you think about it._

_He's just like..._

* * *

Naruto shut his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks. He didn't really understand what was happening right now. Mizuki had told him a bunch'a stuff about him and Iruka and…

_I'm the Nine Tailed Fox? But I'm gonna be Hokage! and everyone's gonna respect me and… _

'_**NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN!'**_

_B..but…_

'**FROM BIRTH YOUR ROLE WAS DECIDED!'**

_N..no…_

'**These eyes of mine show me more than chakra. I've seen. People's limitations are set, fixed and unchangeable. Only a fool wastes their time trying to become something he can never be.'**

_He saw it too. He knew. He tried to tell me. I just thought he was being mean but... he knew somehow.  
_

'**YOU WOULD BE HATED AND DESPISED!'**

_Is that… my role? Is this what my life's supposed to be like… forever?_

"NARUTO GET DOWN"

_'Huh… is that Iruka-sensie?' _

'**IRUKA'S THE SAME YOU KNOW?'**

_He hates me too?_

'**HIS PARENTS WERE KILLED BY THE DEMON FOX!'**

_I… killed his parents?_

Naruto opened his eyes. He was on the floor with Iruka on top of him, shielding him. He was flinching, as if waiting for something to hit him, but whatever it was hadn't hadn't come. Naruto looked past him as Iruka opened his eyes too, turning around confused by the lack of damage.

_Neji?_

He looked exhausted. He was gasping for breath after he'd done… something. There was some big arm-length shuriken lodged in a tree that wasn't there before. Had he done that? Neji spun around and glared at both of them. "Well are you both just going to lie there or are you going to make an exhausted genin fight him alone?"

Iruka stumbled to his feet. And asked the obvious question. "You heard?"

"I did. But there are currently more pressing matters to attend to. Now then…" He turned to address the traitor Mizuki. "Perhaps you should surrender before I close every chakra point in your body."

_He's bluffing. Even I can see that but… why is he helping me?_

Mizuki was a little shocked at Neji's intervention, but once he heard Neji, his expression changed from alarm to sadistic amusement.

"HEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU?! DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH LITTLE HYŪGA! MAYBE YOU AND IRUKA WOULD HAVE HAD A SHOT IF YOU WERE AT YOUR BEST, BUT YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY EXHAUSTED AND IRUKA OVER THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE MUCH HELP WITH SO MANY KUNAI STICKING OUT OF HIM."

He suddenly became horribly calm. "Wrong place, wrong time little Hyūga. Prepare to die."

Iruka had joined Neji, but turned back to Naruto for a moment, "Naruto, take the scroll and run back to the village. We'll hold him off until help arrives."

_This doesn't make sense... why are they protecting me?_

"Iruka sensei… Neji… w..why did you help me?"

Iruka inclined his head towards Naruto slightly but never let Mizuki out of his sight. "M..my parents... after they died, there was nobody there for me. Not one person to acknowledge my existence. I started acting like an idiot in class. I messed up on propose just to get attention. But it was always the same when I went back to that empty apartment. It was always so painful." There were tears flowing down his face now. "N..Naruto, you must have been in so much pain. I'm so sorry. If I'd done a better job, then maybe you wouldn't have to feel like this…"

_Can I believe him? After all that Mizuki said… can I trust him? Maybe I should just run. Keep running until… I don't know… Wait what's Neji doing?_

Neji had removed his forehead protector, allowing the attached fabric to dance in the breeze around his hand. Naruto looked at Neji's exposed temple where there was a strange looking X mark surrounded by two horizontal lines on either side of it. It looked like… well, it looked like…

"I..is that…"

"You are not the only one to bear seal that was forced upon you without your consent." Neji scowled as he continued. "Among other things, this seal allows the main branch of my clan to torture with pain, or kill anyone bearing this seal. I was four when they forced it upon me. It's unfair isn't it?"

Naruto just stood there, in awe of him.

"Awwww, such a shame." Mizuki chimed in. "If you weren't a branch member I could sell those eyes. They really do go for a fortune in Kumo you know?

Pure hatred radiated from Neji's face as he turned to Mizuki. "**I know"**

Mizuki, apparently having had enjoyed enough banter, leapt down at them. "I WAS GOING TO SAVE YOU TWO UNTIL LATER! BUT NOW I THINK I'LL FINISH YOU FIRST!

Iruka slashed at him with a kunai but he danced out of the way, bringing a fist into his stomach. As Iruka gasped and fell, Neji moved to take Mizuki out while he was dealing with Iruka, but was obviously exhausted. Mizuki easily reacted in time, batting away Neji's fist like it was nothing, bringing up a knee to his jaw. Neji jumped with the movement, but wasn't fast enough in his current state, taking a good amount of the force. Mizuki took a moment to appreciate his work with a satisfied smile before drawing a kunai, ready to finish the job.

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* * *

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That was when all hell broke loose.

"I suppose it really is time to end thi..arghh" Mizuki's speech was cut short as a flying orange knee collided with his face.

Hard.

Mizuki snapped up from where he was sent sprawling to see Naruto standing between him and the two downed shinobi. He practically growled as he spoke. "You… You shouldn't have done that Naruto…"

The blonde even didn't so much as flinch. He just stood there, propping up the scroll with one hand. His eyes didn't waver for a moment, remaining fixed on Mizuki. "If you touch them..." He paused, taking a deep breath.

"**I'LL KILL YOU"**

Mizuki was on his feet again. They both ignored Iruka's wheezed cries for Naruto to run. Neji had managed to prop himself up against a tree, but was in no condition to do any more than that. He would deal with them shortly.

"Hehehe… I'LL KILL A FAILURE LIKE YOU IN ONE SHOT!"

Naruro's glare was still burning cold. "Try it then… I'll give it back **a thousand times**"

"DO IT THEN _DEMON FOX_!

Naruto formed a clone seal. Mizuki arched and eyebrow, a cocky smirk appearing. He had seen Naruto's clone's for himself. Hell, that wasn't even the _right_ clone seal. This was going to be ea- " 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!' "

Muzuki wasn't smiling anymore. In fact he was utterly horrified as he realised that he was surrounded by **hundreds **of very real Narutos.

Literally hundreds.

Every speck of land

Every tree branch

Every rock.

He was... everywhere.

"W..whats going on?!" Mizuki's head darted back and forth, despretly trying (and failing) to understand how this had just happened.

"What's wrong?" one of the clones asked.

"…weren't you gonna kill me in one shot?" another continued.

Iruka stared at the situation in utter awe while Neji was busy trying to prop himself up against the tree again after falling over in shock.

"Well then…" another two spoke in unison.

"I'll start, OK?"

All of them then chose that moment to leap at Mizuki. He screamed as he was overwhelmed by clones, each getting a shot in before ever so politely dispersing themselves to allow the next clone to step up. Naruto stopped a dozen hits or so after Mizuki lost consciousness.

He glanced over at Iruka and Neji while scratching his head, "Hehe… I went a little too far…"

Iruka had followed suit on Neji's idea and was lying up against a tree of his own when he finally spoke.

"Naruto come over here… there's something I want to give you".

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* * *

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Outside the Hokage tower.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped outside to address a group of panicked shinobi, who were all despairing at their inability to find Naruto. The boy had been tricked my Mizuki into stealing the forbidden scroll and there was a great deal of fear that he would use one of the techniques it contained to try and release the fox's power. Luckily, this hadn't happened, as shown by his crystal ball.

Damn he loved that thing.

"Everyone." The old leader spoke in a calm and collected voice that still managed to practically radiate authority.

They all turned to address him, some even whispering 'Hokage-sama'.

"I'd like to inform you all that the crisis is over and that Naruto is on his way back, unharmed."

They all looked at him expectantly and Hiruzen sighed, suppressing a wave of irritation.

"… The scroll is fine too".

The crowd erupted into cheers of relief as the Hokage began chuckling to himself.

_One day that boy might just make you all think twice…_

_._

_._

* * *

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Forest outskirts

"Okay now… open your eyes"

Naruto slowly opened them, wincing as sunlight hit. Was it morning already?

As his vision adapted to the light, the blonde saw Iruka, looking at him with a glowing smile and…

Naruto slowly lifted his hand up to his forehead, only to feel cold metal. His eyes widened He looked back to Iruka again, his temple exposed…

_He… he gave me his... But this means…_

"Congratulations on graduating Naruto! Let's celebrate with some ramen!"

The Orange clad boy leapt at the man, enveloping him the mother of all hugs, which Iruka returned after wincing in pain for a moment. Iruka looked up and spotted Neji chuckling, still leaning against a tree. At some point the he'd returned his own forehead protector to cover his seal again.

"What's so funny?" Iruka asked. Neji looked at them, still chuckling. "It's nothing, you just made me remember something entertaining." Iruka nodded, still not quite sure how to handle both Naruto _and _another genin knowing the secret about the Nine Tailed Fox, but be wasn't about to let that ruin the moment.

"Naruto. Do you think you could help Neji?" Iruka said while getting up. "I suspect he's having a little trouble standing."

"OK!" Naruto chirped as If he hadn't just used up enough chakra to kill a man. He started walking over to Neji, who allowed him to rap his arm over his shoulder.

"What about him?," Neji gestured towards a beaten and bloody Mizuki, as he allowed Naruto to support his weight. Iruka grabbed a piece of paper with some ink on it and placed it on Mizuki. It started to glow faintly. "That'll send off a chakra signal using the bastard's own chakra. We'll direct the first squad we run into towards it if they haven't already noticed." Neji nodded, taking some uneven steps with Naruto under him. Iruka had started to walk ahead.

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* * *

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Iruka had walked just out of earshot, leaving Naruto and Neji with only the sounds of the crunching leaves underneath them to break the silence.

"So…" Naruto said, a little awkwardly.

"So…" Neji returned. Neither really knew what to say next after some of their most deep and personal information had been laid out in front of the other. One of them didn't even know about theirs.

Naruto started.

"I'm still gonna be Hokage. I still don't care about any of that fate crap you were spouting earlier and I **definitely** don't care about the bastard fox locked up in me. You got a problem with that?"

Neji shook his head.

_That was a turnaround. _

"Also," he continued, "you're gonna stop with all that fate and branding stuff altogether. Your seal doesn't define who you are and mine doesn't define me. Ayway, when I become Hokage, I'm gonna make them take off that stupid seal and you won't have one after that anyway."

This time Neji just stared at him, completely dumbfounded. what was he supposed to-

_Could he do it? Could he really just shrug all that off and just… keep going?_

"Why?" It was really all he could ask.

Naruto cocked his head as if Neji had just asked him a really stupid question. "Because we're friends now. You protected me and Iruka when you coulda just stayed away, and I helped you when you were down by kicking Mizuki's ass with my awesome new technique!"

"And this makes us friends?"

"Yep!"

Neji paused, unable to think of what to say next.

He had never had any real friends. None among his teammates anymore, if ever, and certainly never any in the Hyūga compound. They were either complacent slaves or the one's who put the subjugated him in the first place.

And now he'd bled for some dropout who hadn't even passed his genin exams. Who'd then gone on to save his life in return. It had been a strange day for Neji.

"How can you say that this was not fated to be?" Neji responded. It was all he could really think of to say.

"Are you kidding? Naruto gestured with his free hand to… well… everything around them.

"Who the hell do you think could have ever **planned **this? Na, this probably happened the way it did cuz of some moron did something stupid that snowballed outta control. Stuff always happens for weird reasons" Naruto concluded.

Neji's eye twitched.

_For a dropout he seems to be odly right about most things, even when he doesn't know it._

Neji finally hung his head. Exhausted and completely overwhelmed by the blond in the orange jumpsuit.

And so Neji resigned himself to his fate-less fate.

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[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]

A/N And there goes the intro arc. I would feel really great if I hadn't only managed to make it past CHAPTER 1 of the manga.

I think I've figured out how to deal with their sensei so hey, that's good news!.

View count and follows are still going up to my utter glee. More reviews please, otherwise I cant learn from my mistakes. If any other writers have any thoughts on how I wrote this I'd love you hear them.

Obviously less humor and more action/ drama in this one. I know I made it seem like Neji was onto Mizuki and he was, but the confrontation with Naruto kind of threw that off. Not every suspicion gets followed up upon before its too late.

What did you think of my ideas about rotation? It always bothered me that they could just spin around a few hundred times and be OK, so I improvised how you would fix something like that. What do you think?

The big issue in this... well... Issue, is Neji's loss of fate (kinda). I didn't really fancy baiting the fox and fate thing this along as the story progressed with these two. I thought Naruto's turnaround was quite cool. Inspired by Iruka and Neji after being hit with a freighter's worth of knowledge, Naruto came back and just defied all of Neji's preconceptions with sheer force of will. Yea I thought that was a good way to go, but my all means, tell me if i got it wrong and why.

Note, its not the beat-down treatment he got in those **other **exams, with a 'because you hurt Hinata' message. Ive not got anything against that, I just thought it distracted away from some of the bigger issues presented in cannon. As for how Neji is going to act around Hinata now... well wait and see.

I may have to do a little Hyūga bashing, but only on the clan as a whole not specific members unless they're specific dicks. The seal is pretty much slavery and i don't care how fantasy this show is. Slavery is bad. End of story really. Sorry to you pro slavery people out there. Oh wait... no I'm not.

That's it. Later


	8. Chapter 7

Naruto is not mine and I make no money from this.

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"How can you say that this was not fated to be?" Neji responded. It was all he could really think of to say.

"Are you kidding? Naruto gestured with his free hand to… well… everything around them.

"Who the hell do you think could have ever planned this? Na, this probably happened the way it did cuz of some moron did something stupid that snowballed outta control. Stuff always happens for weird reasons" Naruto concluded. Neji's eye twitched.

For a dropout he seems to be odly right about most things, even when he doesn't know it.

Neji finally hung his head. Exhausted and completely overwhelmed by the blond in the orange jumpsuit. And so Neji resigned himself to his fate-less fate.

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Chapter 7 – Legacy and shopping

"Most people, in the end, really are all on their own."

― Nova Ren Suma, Imaginary Girls

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Two Days Later – Konoha Merchant District

Shikamaru had always hated mysteries. They had two insufferable qualities about them that always tripped him. The first was that anything complicated enough for him to be unable to solve with minimal information that others just couldn't seem to put together, usually required quite a bit of personal effort to solve (something he was loathed to give). The second was that, unlike other tasks which required effort, he couldn't turn mysteries away and let someone else deal with it. They ate at him, gnawing at the corner of his mind until he finally figured it out.

His current mystery was Naruto Uzumaki.

It was his worst yet.

A few weeks after displaying what must have been _at least_ jōnin level chakra capacity. So much that with a below genin chakra control level, he simply _couldn't_ limit the amount he put into techniques that fell below his bare minimum. Even after learning the problem, Naruto couldn't make a proper clone, although it was leaps and bounds better than before. Nobody was sure whether or not he'd passed as Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei were discussing whether or not to all the way into the hallway. Shikamaru figured that you'd have to be a total moron to not let him pass. With that level of chakra he would actually find it easier to master higher level techniques. Who would turn that down? At this point the mystery hadn't sunk it's fangs into him yet. Due to a healthy dose of denial, Shikamaru had been able to wave this off as strange but nothing more.

Now though, that wasn't possible. His mystery sense had a three strike rule. Once was strange. Twice was and odd coincidence. Three was a pattern.

Once was Naruto's weird chakra capacity.

Twice was Iruka sending them all home early as if they had seen something they **really **shouldn't have.

Three times came when Neji and Naruto had shown up for class the next day, bruised and exhausted (well as exhausted as Naruto could get anyway), with Iruka showing up in much the same state but with injuries to tell them that the team formations were to be delayed a few days and that they should show up on Monday for more news.

_**Come now Shikamaru, we both know that we need to know.**_

_No I don't, I don't care. It has nothing to do with me._ He knew arguing with this part of him was useless (although arguing with yourself is usually a cause for concern in of itself)

The Gnaw wasn't giving up. _**Nothing to do with you? How would you know? **_

_I don't._

_**Then find out. **_

_No... _

_**I'm going to keep bothering you until you do. You know that. The effort you're putting into ignoring me could just as easily be diverted into figuring out Naruto.**_

It... had a point.

…_Fine _

As Shikamaru resolved his internal struggle, he trailed behind his mother who was, thankfully, blissfully unaware of his inner ramblings. She had insisted on taking him out after his graduation to get a larger set of clothes and new equipment and, as he had free time, he was doing it now. She had just taken him inside a newly opened store, which, according to her, was apparently a new branch of a line of stores originating from Nami no Kuni ('_Land of Waves_'). This was when he became sure that the world was somehow conspiring for, or against, him. It was really all a matter of perspective.

"Oi! Neji, how come you're making me get new clothes! What I got now's fine!"

_You did this somehow didn't you?_

_**I'm part of you, not some supernatural deity.**_

_So you say..._

A sigh came from the directions of the changing rooms and Shikamaru noticed Neji waiting outside one of the drawn curtains looking thoroughly irritated. "We've been over this. There are many strange things that have happened over the past few days that I have been forced to accept…"

**Oooh Jucy!**

_You're worse than Ino, now shhhh, I'm trying to eavesdrop._

"…However I will not help you take over this country and overturn age-old clan traditions while you're wearing an ORANGE JUMPSUIT. I have to draw the line somewhere."

Shikamaru joined his mother and the rest of the store in collectively staring at him in a kind or horrified bewilderment. The assistant who appeared to have been helping them pick out clothing had begun giggling to at the spectacle.

Neji turned to address the concerned shoppers, obviously becoming aware of the way in which he had worded his sentence. "We're not doing it today!" he snapped, irritated that he had to clarify that they were not launching a Coup d'état after they finished shopping. The assistant broke into full laughter.

_**See? They're planning on taking over the world. You live in the world. So it does have something to do with you"**_

_He said the country actually, and Naruto's been shouting about becoming Hokage for years. The only thing new here is that someone, and someone from a prominent clan no-less, now believes that he can do it._

"What's wrong with orange? Orange is awesome!"

"Be that as it may, which it isn't, that particular colour is not particularly useful for a ninja", Neji retorted.

"But Old-Man-Hokage wears those baggy robes and a big-ass hat! They aren't too useful for a ninja!"

"That's a status symbol. The only thing wearing that much orange symbolises is that you're colour-blind"

"Yea, cuz black shorts and a white jacked blend into the forest _soooo well_"

Shikamaru followed his mother through the store as she brought him to the counter. They'd only come into this store to pick up some things that she had ordered for herself anyway. He kept watching.

"Naruto-kun, the assistant said in a rather adorable 'this is why I'm so good at my job' voice. "I did put some orange into this outfit. I think It'll make you look cooler than ever before!"

_Well she found his buttons. The only thing missing is a reference to ramen somewhere_.

Ramen was one of Naruto's favourite things as everyone in the academy had learned, they really had no way to avoid it.

"O..okay". He stepped out and the assistant clapped both of her hands together as she squeaked a little at the result of her recommendation. Shikamaru had to admit that she had taste. He was wearing an unzipped black hoodie with an orange hood, coupled with an orange tee-shirt underneath. His pants were black too, but they had a large orange stripe running along the outer thigh of both his legs, all the way to the bottom. Naruto blushed in response, unsure what to do with the compliment.

"Yo"

All three turned to Shikamaru as he walked over to them. He figured he might as well. Him and Naruto were kinda-sorta friends anyway.

Naruto spoke first, "Hey, Shika! Check out the new threads! Cools right! I mean it's not as cool as what I was wearing", Neji and the shop assistant actively cringed at this. "..But it's still got orange and now Neji can stop bitching about stealth and stuff!"

"You'll take It then?" The shop assistant asked with this sisterly glowing smile that made Naruto look like he was going to melt. It helped that these people were from outside the village. Outsiders usually treated Naruto normally as opposed to villagers, who Shikamaru had noticed were less than kind to him at times...

_Damn that's another point of concern. This is going to kill me if I don't figure it out soon!_

"I'll take it!" Naruto proclaimed, returning a bright smile.

Neji interrupted, "I can help you buy this, it's rather expensive and I doubt you have too much money in your current situation.

Naruto looked a little perplexed, "watcha talking about?" He wandered back into the changing room to grab a frog shaped wallet from his orange jumpsuit which was still in there, at least Shikamaru thought it was a frog, it was bursting at the seams!

The assistant wiped off a little drool before informing him that, yes, this was_ more_ than enough.

Neji and Shikamaru just stood there in wonder at how he got his hands on that much money.

"We'll take two, no… three sets then", Neji decided as he turned to Naruto. "You're going to need more than one if you don't want to be washing it every day." Naruto nodded. They started walking over to the till where Shikamaru's mother was finishing up her business.

"Come along now, Shikamaru" She turned to acknowledge Naruto and Neji before realising that she didn't recognise the Hyūga, by anything more than his tell-tail eyes. She decided to save herself the embarrassment of looking like she'd forgotten her son's friend's name's (she hadn't), by referring them to them by their family names, just to be safe.

And then… all hell broke loose.

"Say goodbye to Hyūga-san Uzumaki-kun, Shikamaru." He was looking a little put out when the assistant interrupted. "Uzumaki… Like THE Uzumaki?"

Naruto looked a bit depressed at this before changing his tone to one more defiant, standoffish one, "Yea, got a problem with that!?"

"Of course not! It's just that now you get a discount!" she beamed. The others turned to her, unsure of exactly what she was doing.

"Oh okay!" Naruto said returning to his more cheerful self for a moment before looking a little confused again, "Oh wait! But why?"

"Well, this shop was founded by an Uzumaki after the clan was scattered. He decided that as a memento to his clan that anyone who was of their clan heritage had a 10% discount!" She beamed, completely unaware that three genin and one mother were gawking at her like she'd grown a second head.

_Oh COME ON!_

**_Mystery! Intrigue! Unknown powers and hidden clans! This is too good to pass up!_**

"I..I have a clan?" The assistant looked up from the till at Naruto, "You didn't know about the Uzumaki's history? The blonde slowly shook his head from side to side. Shikamaru took a moment to see that his mother was also surprised by this revelation, if a little concerned for some reason.

"Oh darling, I'm so sorry. Someone really should've told you." She began, looking a little sad, "The Uzumaki clan were part of a hidden village by the name of Uzushiogakure that was allied with Konohagakure." Naruto's eyes widened and both Shikamaru and Neji knew the question that he was about to ask, the one they both knew would probably have an unhappy answer. "…Unfortunately they were a bit too good. I forget what they specialised in but they were meant to be very powerful." She sighed. "Eventually their enemies put aside their differences to destroy the village" Naruto's face fell, but the assistant decided to keep going and finish her story as she bagged the clothing. "Of course that was it for their official status as a clan, but they lived on," He rose his head again, a little hope showing. "They scattered across the globe once they knew the village was going to fall, usually taking up fake names to avoid persecution from any enemies". Her smile returned now, "One of them went to Nami no Kuni and eventually started a clothing store, named 'The Spiral', in honour of his lost clan. She gave off a grin, "and now, even after he passed away, here we are! and you're getting a 10% discount!"

Shikamaru let out a sigh, Neji was scowling at… something and Naruto looked euphoric and crestfallen, all at the same time. Shikamaru spoke first, "that was… a lot to take in". Neji nodded, apparently just as skilled at these kind of situations as he was. Not at all.

Naruto's smile became its bright and usual self again and he handed over the money with a… generous amount left over, which he waved off once the assistant tried to hand it back. "Thanks for the cool story nee-chan! And for the cloths"! He and Neji then began to walk out of the store, turning left while Shikamaru and his mother turned right. He could vaguely hear Naruto as he walked.

"I had a clan"

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None of the genin graduates had noticed that they had been watched, or that said observer had been taking notes.

_This may be a problem. _The observer thought as he attached his notes to an eagle which promptly took off, away from the village.

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[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]

A/N Not much to say today.

Did not intent to write this, but it just came out of me as I went . The cloths store which despite being called, 'The Spiral', I have lovingly named deus ex wardrobe change was only meant to be one short scene. Obviously it was not. I originally had the store being part of the land of the waves so that nobody would know who Naruto was and hence they could buy stuff without depressing drama. However, it snowballed and when I was about to have Shikamaru leave and change perspectives, well his mother just had to open her mouth. I shit you not, this happened completely unplanned and I'm kinda happy that it did. I still found the clan conversation kind of awkward, but then that kind of conversation would probably be awkward so that could be fine.

On a side note, reviewers (I have new ones!):

SuperVegitoFAN Yes Taki is filler flashback anime cannon, so it's really up for debate. I say yes because its an awesome piece of back story about Naruto, Iruka and to a lesser extent, Shikamaru.

SoulNinjas Thanks I thought the ramen was a neat quirk too. Sorry about the lack of fate kicking. I went a different way

TheBlackSeaReaper- Thanks, i hope you keep reading :-)

littlegirl99- Thank you so much! I'm enjoying the way this is going too. I'll update as often as I can.

To my lone guest reviewer - Of Course I'm doing that! Its going to be epic and full of the power of youth!


	9. Chapter 8

I don't own Naruto

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None of the genin graduates had noticed that they had been watched, or that said observer had been taking notes.

This may be a problem. The observer thought as he attached his notes to an eagle which promptly took off, away from the village.

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Chapter 8 – Adventures in Fangirlism

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**Bakura:** I'm here to join you on your adventure. I hope you don't mind, but I brought my fangirls with me.

**Mob of fangirls:** EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

**Joey:** God, it's like hanging out with the Jonas Brothers.

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— _Yu Gi Oh The Abridged Series_, "A Tale of Two Tournies"

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Konoha Academy – Monday, 9:30am

Naruto had shown up barely ten minutes before Iruka was supposed to come in and give everyone their team formations. Granted his alarm clock was broken and he had to get a new one at some point, but this was really no excuse.

Naruto had obliterated his alarm the day after the incident with Mizuki, his nerves still raw and his paranoia at an all-time high thanks to the boatload of information that the night had dumped on him. Oh, and this was before a shop assistant had informed him about his ancient (dead) clan heritage, which while sporting him a nifty discount (which he totally overruled anyway) had left him in even more emotional turmoil. As such, Naruto left 'getting a new alarm clock' in the list of things he marked under, 'I can't give a shit about right now because I've got a giant demon fox inside me and it's still freaking me the fuck out, even if I pretend it isn't'. It was a literal, yet appropriate name for the list, he thought, well, not with the big words.

"Oi, so you actually passed Naru-baka", Kiba beamed. For all the insult was supposed to be worth, Naruto couldn't be angry at him. Kiba was obviously ecstatic that Naruto had passed.

"Duh! Of course I passed dog breath!" Naruto retorted, glad to have a distraction from his foxy musings. He sat next to Kiba and they began their usual banter, both knowing that neither really meant anything by it anymore.

He was joined by Neji who, despite having arrived before him, had gotten up and moved to sit on the other side of Naruto, which he only briefly acknowledged visibly, but was over the freaking moon about as well.

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This did not go unnoticed.

Shikamaru expected it to a certain degree, their escapades in 'The Spiral', making it quite obvious that Neji and Naruto got on now. He was about the only one prepared.

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Kiba had noticed and immediately identified the eyes of the Hyūga, the scent of the bathing oil that they all apparently used seeming to confirm it. He briefly stopped his conversation so acknowledge him. This was returned with a nod and a small smile, which he had no problem with as he returned to quip back at Naruto for calling Akamaru, 'mutt'. Naruto then pointed out that he wasn't talking about Akamaru, eliciting a smirk from the Hyūga.

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While Kiba raged at his waking into such an obvious set-up a few of the girls had noticed the goings on. There had been in the last few weeks a great divide in the kunoichi-hopeful population within the class. After Neji had joined with his own brand of, as one girl put it 'broody clan handsomeness', which only seemed to be enhanced by the fact that they saw so little of him (it apparently 'added to the mysterious allure'), roughly half of Sasuke Uchiha's fan-girls had abandoned him (much to his secret glee) and joined team Neji (to his, not so secret horror).

This was then exacerbated by the fact that Iruka-sensei had never let the two spar, leaving the prospect up for all kinds of debate. Neither of the two had paid much attention to the fan-girls, both brooding about either their fate or their revenge at the time, though there was a vague kind of mutual sympathy that passed between them on occasion.

It was however in the last three days before the Genin exam that both of them had put their feet down and actively attempted to discourage the girls.

This was due to a third, smaller faction that had broken off, comprised of members of both sides. They had decided that the reason for their failure in wooing their respective love interests, was not because they were 12 and 13 respectively and may not have had those kind of interests yet, but that they must, of course, be batting for the other team. This had, in turn, led to gossip, speculation and eventually an amateur novelisation by one of the more imaginative girls in their class, who would eventually fail her Genin exam, but go on to pen a series of erotic novels to rival the 'Icha Icha' series.

The two clan prodigies had been gleefully informed by Naruto and Kiba (the former still pissed off at Neji at the time) about this, Naruto even handing over a photo-copied version of _'Forbidden Clan Escapades'_ to prove he wasn't lying. They, for all their respectability, stoic-ness and broody-ness had, as Naruto had reiterated when telling the story to others at a later date 'freaked the fuck out'.

In fact, let's see that now.

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_Three days before the Genin Exams _

"_HAHAHAHAHA! This is genius!" Naruto shouted as Kiba howled with laughter alongside him. _

_Neji who had sat near Sasuke Uchiha because he never said anything, which was fine by him, didn't know, and had no desire to know, why the two boys were in hysterics. That was until he realised that they had glanced beck at him and the Uchiha between and sometimes during their outbursts. He was currently aware that despite the rareness with which he was in classes with others, a sizable portion of the kunoichi in said class, had decided that he was a good romantic prospect. He had done his best to ignore or outright reject these people, but for some reason it simply made him more desirable to them. He'd barely spoken to Naruto after their little confrontation at the ramen stand and what little they had, had been just barely respectable, both not wanting to upset a friend of Iruka. Neither he, nor the Uchiha were yet aware of the third faction of fan-girls. Unsurprising, considering the lengths they went to ignore them._

_Sasuke had noticed the glances from the two morons and he had figured that by the looks of Neji, so had he. He desperately wanted to know what the hell was going on, just so he could stop it. His stoicism was not as well maintained as Neji's and he was about to lose it. Luckily he didn't have to as Naruto and Kiba finally rose from their chairs and walked over to the two of them._

"_We've had our fun", Kiba said. _

_Naruto continued, "But we think you should know now-hehe. It's getting kinda creepy, even if its funnier than all my pranks put together. _

_Kiba snapped his head round in shock at Naruto's statement, "Come on Naruto! Not all of them! Remember when we snuck that chemical into the Akimichi's food sup-hehehe. T..they were flipping out and started screaming about pissing blue!" _

"_Chōji beat the crap out of us when you bragged idiot!"_

"_Oi!"_

"_Get to the point or get lost" Sasuke snapped. He didn't have time for this. Naruto, surprisingly did so. "Ok so you know about the fangirls?" Naruto scowled while speaking as he had a massive crush on one Sakura Haruno, who had not budged so much as an inch from the Sasuke's camp. Respective scowls were returned from the two in acknowledgement. _

"_Dude- l..let me take over", Kiba beamed, wanting to beat Naruto to the punch line. Naruto begrudgingly accepted. "Have you heard of the third faction though?" They both shook their heads._

'_Is that it?' Sasuke thought. 'They got my attention for some new kind of annoyance?'_

_Kiba seemingly reading their expressions sighed. "Screw it, it's better if you just see for yourself. He and Naruto then backed up three feet and watched, their expressions with barely (read: not at all) contained glee._

_Neji picked up the thick pamphlet sized collection of paper and started reading, Sasuke doing the same beside him._

_Naruto and Kiba watched the two clan prodigies._

_First there was bemusement from both at the implication._

_Then, as it became less and less implied, their expressions changes._

_Shock_

_Fear_

_Horror _

_Dread _

_Revulsion_

_And finally…_

_Rage._

_Lots and lots of rage._

_Neji spoke first as Sasuke was still in a state of shock, alternating between blinding rage and pure horror too quickly to properly decide on a response yet. "W..who did this? A simple question. Of course Neji hadn't actually looked up from the atrocity yet, still scanning for a pen name, or if he was lucky and they were incredibly foolish, an author name. It took a lack of an answer to realise that the two informants had collapsed on the floor laughing and were in no condition to say much of anything._

"_H..HIS F-FACE, HE- AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! DID YOU… SEE THE LOOK ON HI- AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! "Naruto could barely breath. Kiba was pounding the ground. "N..NO ITS JUST TOO MU.. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

_Neji, confident that there was no such indication of who'd made it, as it was printed off rather than handwritten, crumpled up the paper and threw it on the floor. "BURN IT. BURN IT NOW" The Uchiha did so with a well-controlled flamethrower that Naruto took a brief moment to appreciate before collapsing back on the ground laughing again._

_Someone was going to pay for this._

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Now

Afterwards they'd hunted down members of the faction mercilessly. Gender was no barrier. They only showed signs of restraint if their victim offered any clue to who had penned the ultimate insult. They got close, but they would never truly know until years later when said author admitted it in the author's notes of her latest book. Again, they would find out through Naruto. And again, there would be so, so much laughing at their expense.

As such when Neji had sat next to Naruto instead of Sasuke out of his own personal preference with what seemed to me a much more subdued and open personality, the kunoichis' minds set to work with the utmost haste. And whispers could quickly be heard.

One kunoichi, who had never taken part in any of this had been following an entirely different line of thought. Hinata Hyūga had been utterly mortified when her cousin had turned up in her classes at first. Deadly afraid of him seeing her failures, made only worse by the fact that her father had never elaborated on _why _he was there in the first place. But this? This was causing her brain to short circuit. Naruto was sitting next to **Neji** and Kiba, which they all seemed to approve like it was natural! Granted, that Kiba looked a little confused about the prodigy's presence in the conversation, small as it was, but Hinata wasn't particularly focused on Kiba. Naruto was happy to have Neji there! She had activated her Byakugan out of instinct, not at all because she had nearly zero-respect for privacy when it came to her dōjutsu. Yes, instinct, that was it. His facial muscles displayed complete relaxation around her cousin and no fake smile could fool a user of the Byakugan. They were taught how to recognise the ways in which intentional and conscious displays of emotions were displayed respectively. It was an excellent skill set to have. That being said, when her father had it taught to her, it was not quite his intention for her to use it on her crush so that she could see if he was really happy or not.

If only he knew…

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Ino, was also having revelations of her own. She had been jumping between the Neji and Sasuke camps like it was nothing. Not nearly as obsessive with the Uchiha, she had long since realised that he had no romantic inclinations and she was simply happy, being vocal in her appreciation of what she considered, 'a hotty'. And really, what was wrong with that? The addition of a new Hotty simply meant it was a great time to be Ino. Her revelation came while she was sitting next to Chōji starting across at Neji with a cheeky grin, knowing that it made him a little uncomfortable. He'd gotten up to change seats next to another hott…

_Wait..._

_...Is that?_

_No way._

_No freaking way._

_And did I just think he was a ho.._

_Nononononono_

She immediately left her seat passing, unknown to her, an inwardly distressed Hinata to set things straight.

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At the same time Naruto and Kiba's argument had stagnated and they'd fallen back on comfortable silence.

That was until Kiba noticed Naruto's outfit.

He was one of the two people who hadn't, the other had activated her Byakugan before she'd noticed and was currently getting a much clearer idea about his facial structure than his outfit, not that anyone knew this of course.

Primarily focusing on smell to identify, Kiba finally took in Naruto's new look and decided to play it cool when he realised that he actually looked pretty badass in the Black and orange colour combo. "By the way Naruto, what's with the outfit?".

Naruto gave his patented grin, "It's cool right?! I got it from this new place and they gave me a discount and…" he cut himself off.

Kiba figured he must have realised he was rambling and decided to answer the original question, "Way cool man, glad you finally joined the hoodie club", he gestured with his thumb to the hood of his own.

Naruto's look of slight apprehension changed back to its super-grin mode. "Yea!"

"Naruto?"

"Huh?" He turned, "Oh, what's up Ino?

Said girl slid into the last seat of the row next to Neji, "What's up is your new outfit" she answered.

He grinned again, "Cool?"

She just nodded a little dumbly, still not quite able not compute what her eyes were telling her. She finally snapped back to reality, "where did you get it? Actually scratch that, who chose it for you? We both know you've got the fashion sense of a… actually you have the worst fashion sense I know of. There is no comparison."

Neji snickered before contributing, "I can think of worse." Both blondes turned to Neji. Naruto wanted to know who after he yelled at someone for saying he had no fashion sense and Ino was in shock at hearing Neji laugh, which as her mind quickly pointed out, was 'super melty charming'-

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"ALRIGHT CLASS, THIS WILL BE THE LAST TIME I SEE YOU HERE!" Iruka burst into the room, adding volume to his voice in an attempt to garner his leaving students' attention. It worked, but that was a given as Iruka had also employed a minor genjutsu which made his voice echo like an evil villain in his secret hideout from one of those 'so bad, it's good' movies. He was really breaking out all the stops. Naruto immediately perked up at his voice, completely DE-censored to the 'epic voice' as he called it, glad to see his to-be ex sensei. Not that he would ever stop calling him that.

Iruka scanned the room for this two favourite students, only managing to find Naruto due to his proximity to Neji.

_'Huh new outfit. I kind of miss the old one though…'_ Iruka though in pre-emptive nostalgia

He lowered his voice back down to a normal volume but kept the genjutsu up. "I'm here to say goodbye to all of you. You've all been wonderful students, even the more **eccentric **of you." Naruto and Kiba shifted in their seats a little awkwardly while Neji snickered again.

Iruka beamed at how far Neji and Naruto had come in such a short amount of time, as well as how they seemed to balance each other out. At least hoped they did. If they went and corrupted one another then Iruka would need to get his story straight before he got held accountable. "I would also love to inform you which teams you are currently on..." He let the words hang in the air for a moment. He was enjoying baiting them far, far too much. All of his students leaned forward.

"BUT!..."

They all recoiled. Oh yes Ibiki would have been proud.

"I am afraid your Jōnin-sensei have informed me that they wish to meet and greet you themselves." He turned back towards the door as his students all collectively sat there in quiet outrage, ready to burst. Before they did Iruka cut them off, evil effect still up, "I'm sure they'll be here soon!" He said with a smile.

Then he walked out, quite thoroughly amused at how bewildered he left his students.

_And that my dear students, is how you make an exit._

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___[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]_

_A/N I enjoyed writing this chapter far too much to call this work._

_Again I had no intention of going down this path, but it was the last time the entire cast were to be together until the **other **exams, so I felt the need to play some of them in. I do not dislike Hinata's character but while it is kind of adorable, the way she crushed on Naruto, the stalker thing is also a bit creepy, if incredibly funny. _

_Neji is noticeably different but I have the flash-back for those of you who may have wanted a bit more info on the stuff that happened over the past few weeks of time._

_I thought that Ino was funny and outgoing in this chapter. _

_Sakura only gets referenced in this one. That is because she has no importance. Kidding but she has no major part to play... yet_

_Quick note as some people who messaged me and didn't see it in the earlier chapter's A/N. There will still be NO OOC yaoi in this fic. I had some fun with the idea in this chapter, but as you may have noticed, they were both horrified by the idea. I'm tempted to give the girl who made __'Forbidden Clan Escapades'_ (I laughed my ass off when i thought of that name) full OC status, partially just so I can give her some kind of rivalry arc with Jiraiya.  


_Reviewers!:_

_littlegirl99- We are in agreement on this. I'm glad the outfit's gone too.  
_

_SuperVegitoFAN- I'm not talking about the OVA, it was a filler/flashback mini arc immediately after the Pain arc_

_SoulNinjas-Glad you liked it. I still found it a little awkward though. I think Naruto would still be the same old him, just with a few clan mementos personally._


	10. Chapter 9

Naruto: not mine

..."BUT!..." They all recoiled. Oh yes Ibiki would have been proud.

"I am afraid your Jōnin-sensei have informed me that they wish to meet and greet you themselves." He turned back towards the door as his students all collectively sat there in quiet outrage, ready to burst. Before they did Iruka cut them off, evil effect still up, "I'm sure they'll be here soon!" He said with a smile. Then he walked out, quite thoroughly amused at how bewildered he left his students.

_And that my dear students. Is how you make an exit._

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Chapter 9 - Complicated

"The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed."  
― J.K. Rowling, _ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_

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Konoha Academy – Monday, 11:40am

Naruto was beaten and bleeding. He blamed his Jōnin-sensei for this.

It'd been two hours since Iruka had left them in a way that Naruto could only describe as 'epic, up to eleven'. To his credit he'd gone an entire hour without acting up, although this was mainly because Ino had launched a barrage of questions at him about the store that had apparently '_fixed him'_.

After that, he and Kiba started causing mayhem and generally creating havoc. Sasuke and Neji had teamed up to snap at them to sit down and shut up. They had retaliated by both drawing out copies of '_Forbidden Clan Escapades, Volume 2: Only your eyes'_ and began performing dramatic readings from it with both Kiba and Naruto alternating between characters.

"'_But Sasuke, you know we can't stay together! My clan would not hear of it!' Neji turned his back on Sasuke_!" Kiba sounded off, barely keeping himself from collapsing in hysterics.

A sob could be heard from one of the girls. "I'm sorry but I can't help it! This bit always gets me!" She defended as friends turned to look at her.

Neji and Sasuke were going to kill them, that much was already set in stone. They had however, decided to hold off for a few minutes to see if they could glean any pride from the author's face in the room. Unfortunately (well, not for her), said author had failed the Genin exam and was currently at home, as were all the other students who'd failed.

Naruto continued, in much the same state as Kiba._ " 'Oh Neji, I know they would! But I just don't care! Sasuke grabbed his shirt pulling Neji into his arms!"_ There was a collective gasp from five or six of the girls and he was sure one of them had squeaked. In all honesty, Naruto was already kind of regretting this. He knew that it was embarrassing Neji and Sasuke, but the degree to which some of the girls were enjoying their reading was a little... unnerving for Naruto.

Nevertheless, Naruto Uzumaki always saw a prank through to the end.

"Oh Sasuke!"

"Oh Neji!"

They were on the cusp of digging into the meat of the book and some of the girls looked to be on the verge of passing out. Neji and Sasuke jumped them. It wasn't pretty and the only reason they both got out of it with little more than black eyes and bloody noses was because one girl, they still didn't know who, had screamed 'this is so hot!' which had horrified the two prodigies enough to let them off.

"Naruto if you do that again you'll be running this country from a wheel-chair" Neji hissed, helping him up, "are we understood?"

Naruto, still with a grin plastered across his face, nodded and went to go help Kiba up after Sasuke had not been so charitable with him.

"Worth it?" Kiba gasped as he got to his feet.

"Not sure yet", Naruto responded. "If it takes me less than three days to heal then it will be."

Finally, the Jōnin-sensei stormed into the room at once, all looking a little disoriented. But there was a good reason for this.

This was because Iruka had been lying to his students when he told them that he could've announced their teams.

He had no idea what they were.

This is why.

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_Jōnin lounge - 14 hours ago _

_There were many a pissed off Jōnin right now, all with one thing in common. They were waiting for Umino Iruka._

_The teacher had been forced to change the teams around multiple times to appease certain Jōnin, which in turn pissed off others, causing the process to repeat itself. Kakashi Hatake was among the chief offenders, having had his team changed four times already. After learning that he would not be teaching the sole survivor of the Uchiha, he had immediately asked for a throw away team that he could easily fail so he could drop the idea of being a sensei altogether. Only the idea of teaching a certain someone else had kept him interested, so he then asked for the best possible team so he wouldn't have to work hard. Of course, then there were clashes and other problems and nobody knew what the hell was going on, even now, the night before they were supposed to go pick them up. At this rate it would be first come, first serve. Finally Iruka came into the room with... two other Iruka's? All of them were carrying boxes._

_"Took you long enough." One Jōnin said._

_Kakashi thought to address his own interest as well. "Iruka, I wasn't aware that you'd mastered the 'Shadow Clone' jutsu."_

_Iruka shrugged, "A person I'm my position tends to pick things up like that. Although I only have enough chakra for two or three."_

_"You… picked up an B-Class ninjutsu?", Kakashi uttered, not quite sure what to make of the man._

_"Well the Tajū variation was off the table", he chuckled. "Not enough chakra"._

_"Not. What. I. Meant." Kakashi answered, a little irritated._

_"I know" Iruka smiled again, "I learned it from a wayward student of mine who knew it. I managed to get him to show me how it works"_

_"Y..you have a student that can make shadow clones?" All of the Jōnin who had been ready to hit Kakashi for delaying the news were now paying very close attention to Iruka. That was the kind of student you wanted on a team._

_"Anyway!" Iruka beamed, quite happy to leave the bastard Jōnin who had put so much pressure on him and made his life hell for the past few weeks in suspense. "It's time for the team formations!" The boxes were put down._

_"I can't imagine that that information is going to take up more than one box at most" __Yūhi __Kurenai spoke, a little confused at Iruka's act. He looked over to address her. "You imagined correctly Kurenai. None of these have the team formations, but there's a good reason for that."_

_"Well let's hear them." One Asuma Sarutobi said, not at all amused._

_"No"_

_"Excuse me?" This time it was Kakashi._

_Iruka cleared his throat. "Over the past few weeks since Gai disrupted the team formations by swapping out one of his own members..." _

_All Jōnin, shot a derisive look at said man, who had remained quiet throughout the meeting, knowing he had pissed off quite a few highly trained assassins over recent weeks. _

_".. I've had to deal with most of you throwing demands at me for who you want in your teams. I've tried to be accommodating to you all, I really have but the extent to which your demands contradict each other is just intolerable." _

_Kurenai's eyes narrowed "and just what are you doing here then?" _

_Iruka turned to address her, "I am here to draw a line." He gestured to the boxes. "Inside those boxes, are the full reports of all passing Genin, including who I perceive they'll work best a a group with as well as psychological reports. Since I have been unable to properly accommodate you all, you may now decide amongst yourselves who will be on whose team." _

_Asuma's cigarette dropped from his mouth, "b..but we'll be here arguing all night if we do that!" _

_Iruka smile again which all jōnin were beginning to take as some kind of warning sign, "I recommend you get stated then" He turned from the Jōnin, rather happy with his performance, towards the door, but turned as he left. _

_"Good luck."_

_He left them to their fate, quite happy in the knowledge that the bastards had got what was coming to them._

_If only Naruto knew who he'd inherited the title of number one prankster from. Oh of only he knew..._

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Now

"WHY ARE YOU SO LATE", one pink haired girl and two blonds chorused, all looking at each other in confusion for a moment afterwards.

One silver haired shinobi, who between his forehead protector and his facemask, had nearly his entire head covered, stepped forward and spoke up. "I'm sorry students, unfortunately we all got side-tracked on the road of li.."

That was as far as he got before a, quite frankly, stunning woman with black hair and red eyes had come up behind him and whispered something in his ear **very aggressively**.

"A..ahem, w..what I meant to say, was that due to clerical errors which were in no way whatsoever our fault, we have been stuck debating the formations of the teams that you will be assigned to since yesterday evening, not to mention for the best part of today as well. As such, while we do apologise for being late, it really was beyond our control."

All of the Jōnin-sensei had winced, which Naruto found unnerving. There were concerned Genin everywhere as a man with a buzz shave stepped up. "ALRIGHT LET'S GET THIS OVER WITH! STAND UP WHEN I CALL YOUR NAMES! TEAM-"

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"Team 10!" A very dejected looking man, whom Naruto had noted was on his third cigarette by his turn had said." Chōji Akimichi, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame, with me!

Shikamaru looked over at his long time childhood friend Chōji. "Don't worry. It sucks that we're not on the same team but you'll be fine." Chōji nodded, still looking a little depressed, wandering after his two teammates. Kiba gave Naruto a mock salute and Shino was stoic as usual.

_Huh, I hope Kiba does OK with them, _Naruto thought.

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"… Team 8!" The red-eyed woman shouted. "If Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno and Hinata Hyūga would please come with me." They all walked, Ino and Sakura already arguing, while Hinata threw an un-discernible expression in Naruto and Neji's direction. Neji pretended to ignore it as he was still unsure how to deal with his cousin these days and Naruto was oblivious.

Neji noticed Sasuke let out a visible sigh of relief. He turned to him, "That bad?

Sasuke just nodded using his hands to shield the tinniest smirk of relief from the rest of the class.

Neji already knew which team he would be on as he would be taking his place.

_Oh you'll be begging for that team within a week, I assure you._

But there was no need to tell him that. After all, nobody had warned him about... green spandex.

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Things went on in this manner until there were only four of them left, which was weird to say the least. Only Neji knew what was going on and maybe Naruto if he cared to think about what Neji had said at earlier points in time... which meant that only Neji knew what was going on. Sasuke was looking even more serious than usual but Neji was convinced is was confusion. He briefly considered activating his Byakugan to find out, but wrote it off as a terrible abuse of one's kekkei genkai and a horrible invasion of a comrade's privacy in general. He knew that not all in his clan abided by this principle but he was going to try.

Two jōnin were left. The one-eyed one with the silver hair and Gai. Neji tried desperately not to make eye contact. The Gai spoke up first

"Sasuke Uchiha! I am here to collect you so that you may join my youthful team who have already been active Genin for around a year! I trust that the flames of your youth burn bright enough in you, so that you may elevate yourself to their skill in little time!" Said Uchiha was not having a good time interpreting this. On the one hand he had actively perked up knowing that he was being put on an already experienced team. On the other, the man sounded like... well he sounded like Gai.

_Oh dear Kami. He's still as bad as ever, _Neji thought, actively cringing

Sasuke got up and left with his new sensei, leaving Shikamaru, Naruto and Neji in the room with Kakashi. "Well then", the jōnin began.

"Team 7, come with me please"

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Kakashi was already irritated to an astonishing degree. His plans to unbalance his team by making them wait a day for the test and, in the process, make them go hungry when they skipped breakfast on his orders, had been offset by the Hokage's demand to have a full set of reports on his desk by the end of the day on who'd passed and who'd failed. Another of Iruka's revenge, plots he suspected. He made a mental noted that the Chūnin was, henceforth, not to be trifled with. When they'd all arrived at Training Ground 7 he took a moment to size up his students.

Naruto, the dead last was buzzing with energy and obviously ready to go. Nearly too unskilled to even be a ninja as of yet and overconfident. Iruka's report however had noted that his stamina was miles above any other student and that his chakra reserves had to '_be seen to be believed'_. They would see how energetic he was when he had finished with him.

Neji Hyūga was currently moderating his blond teammate, telling him to be shut up while they waited for their sensei to speak. Kakashi was lucky that Gai had decided to skip the teamwork test last year so he'd be new to this as well. From what he had heard from Gai; he was Sasuke with an even bigger superiority complex, the skill to back it up (for a Genin) and a fatalist. Replacing the Genin of the year, he'd been thrown back into the academy for assaulting a teammate, something which Kakashi had detested about him already. He'd make sure the boy was sent back to the academy if he hadn't learned his lesson. There was no way he was allowing _that _to happen again.

Kakashi looked over the final member of the team:

Shikamaru Nara. Test score level: Naruto.

That was until a few weeks ago, after which, his grades had been hitting constantly above 90% like it was going out of style. The report apologised for a lack of extra information, noting that he'd likely been coasting and that the true extent of his abilities were, as of yet, unknown. Kakashi had secretly hidden this little amendment from the other jōnin to make it look like he was taking a dropout (as a favour to them of course). He was always intending on taking Naruto for… certain reasons, and was, up until a few weeks ago, fine taking the last Uchiha as well. He hadn't really cared much who took the last spot but was pleasantly surprised at the element to coming into play.

"Let's start by introducing ourselves shall we?" The three Genin sat on the stairs leading down to the grounds. "Give us an example" Shikamaru sounded lazily, not looking to expend any more effort than required.

"Well… alright. I'm Kakashi Hatake. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes… My dreams for the future… Hmm… As for my hobbies… I have lots of hobbies…"

"Pointless exercise if our teacher doesent even take it seriously" Naruto muttered.

"It's not for my benefit" Kakashi returned. "Now, it's your turn"

Shikamaru sighed, deciding to get his out of the way first, " I'm Shikamaru Nara. I like naps, watching clouds and playing shōgi. My dislikes are troublesome morons, and mysteries which I can't figure out", he shot Naruto a glance but it was unreadable which of the two categories the blond fitted into. "My dreams for the future are to become a good ninja, retire after making my name, and then live out my days with my hobbies." He then slumped back. Nobody was looking particularly impressed with him, although Naruto had just sighed, then stepped up next.

"My name's Naruto Uzumaki! I like cup ramen, but I like Ichiraku Ramen even more! Oh I also like Neji and Shika I guess" Neji arched an eyebrow before muttering about being an amendment after ramen. Kakashi didn't see this coming. He'd even suspected that the two would despise each other from day one. "My dislikes are shitty seals and waiting three minutes for ramen to cook."

_Does he only think about ramen? _The others thought in unison.

"My dreams…"

Neji cringed.

"My future dream is to be the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me right! Oh! and I'll also change a buncha' crappy old stiff that shoulda been changed ages ago anyway," he announced while grinning, glancing at Neji for the last part.

_That was… odd_

Finally Neji spoke up, "My name is Neji Hyūga. My hobbies mainly include meditation. My likes include wild birds and herring soba." He glanced back at Naruto. "I also dislike, '_shitty seals' ". _He chuckled to himself. "My dreams for the future include becoming a jōnin and making that idiot Hokage."

Kakashi nearly fell over.

Shikamaru just rose an eyebrow, having already known, but still not knowing why.

_What the hell Gai! I skipped out on his profile in confidence of your analysis! This is nothing like what you mentioned! How can he be arrogant when he just pledged to help a ninja, leagues below him in skill for that matter, into the most prestigious position in the village! And he sounds an awful lot like he knows about the Kyūbi! This is the kind of shit I need to be told about!_

"Ahem" Kakashi regained his composure, removing two bells from his pocket.

"Let's begin the final test"

* * *

[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]

A/N Not nearly as much fun writing this one after the dramatic reading as I had to follow some of the stations of cannon. I'm glad I mixed the teams up. I was originally just going to swap Sakura for Shikamaru but I figured I might as well let all hell break loose. Next Chapter. The Test!... kind of...

Reviews!:

SuperVegitoFAN- It starts at episode 176 of shippuden and I think it goes on for three episodes. Great mini arc if you ask me.

littlegirl99 - Thank you? Not really sure how I weigh up over the yaoi stuff but I'll keep writing and I hope you keep enjoying reading.

Rika-chan24 - Thank you, I just did.

Sasha-hime - Sasuke and Neji have been switched with Neji staking his spot and vice-versa. Also many students passed the initial Genin exams, I was the final teamwork tests given by the jonin that tripped up most of them.

anjel- Thank you! I'll give the OC thing some thought (i assumed you intended to write OC instead of IC)

Cobra0000- Thanks for reviewing, let me know what you think when you've read the rest.


	11. Chapter 10

"Ahem" Kakashi regained his composure, removing two bells from his pocket.

"Let's begin the final test"

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Chapter 10 - After a good plan comes together

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"Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are."  
― Niccolò Machiavelli, _ The Prince_

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Shushuya Bar - Later

Kakashi ghosted into Shushuya looking for his green clad jōnin colleague. He'd just had a _very_ strange day that he was completely unprepared for and it was mainly Gai's fault. He found him sitting with Kurenai and Asuma who looked to be bitching about their respective days. Fine then, he would approach this calmly, then spring it on him when he wasn't ready.

He walked casually over to the trio, "good evening, I trust you all had a wonderful day?"

Asuma looked awkward while Kurenai shot him a death glare and Gai started beaming in his seat with one of those insane smiles.

"Yes? No?" He asked, almost melodramatically. "I would have thought your team were passable" he asked Asuma as he sat next to the man.

Asuma ran a free hand through his hair, "passable is probably the best way of putting it. They eventually managed to start working together, but it was clunky and awkward. They also all rely on their clan techniques _far_ too much and unlike an Ino-Shika-Cho combination, they don't compensate for each other much either". Kakashi gave the man a sympathetic look which only a jōnin could decipher with that much of his face covered.

"How were your students Kakashi?" Gai asked, obviously hoping that his former student had either begun to learn his lesson or paid the price for ignoring it.

"Interesting you should ask Gai, as your analysis of Neji Hyūga was almost completely useless to me".

Two massive eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?".

"You heard me." Kakashi retorted, "The only thing you got right was that he has skill that surpasses most third year Genins".

Now Gai was truly concerned. He had hoped for some kind of reform, but a complete U-turn? Those didn't just _happen_.

Kakashi shook his head, "I am never pissing Iruka off again". Solemn nods across the table vindicated him.

"What happened", Gai asked?

Kakashi ordered a drink and began, "Well for starters the supposed dead last is the 'wayward student' that Iruka was talking about"

Kurenai spoke up now. "H.. he knows the…"

"Shadow clone jutsu, yes. When I started the the Hyūga whispered something in his ear after I explained about the bells and the kid summoned a couple _hundred_ shadow clones."

"You're kidding!"

"No Kurenai, I'm not kidding, I counted, he started off with at least that many before I got to work on them"

"That's not too much reason for concern is it? All you need to is henge to look like him and they'll turn on each other."

"The Hyūga saw through it and pointed out wherever I was when I did. I was forced to deal with him first. Not that it was _that _was easy considering his Taijutsu was easily Chūnin level"

Gai was nodding along with the story, already knowledgeable regarding Neji's level of skill.

"The those two worked well in unison." Kakashi continued. "Naruro's clones made perfect cannon fodder to wear me down while Neji kept them organized. It was a dangerous combination."

T..they worked together, with… no problems?" Gai stuttered.

"None, the closest they had come to conflict was at the beginning when Naruto asked me for a fair fight." The Copy Ninja chuckled at the memory. "Neji smacked him upside the head and told him that 'we're ninja, not samurai and that if the fight was fair then they were doing something wrong' ".

Asuma snickered at this, "not a bad way of putting it" he chimed in.

"Still though" Kurenai added, "it's not like you couldn't deal with that."

Kakashi took another swig of his drink, "sure, a few fire techniques and a little misdirection and most of the clones were gone. The Hyūga looked tired too. That was before though…"

"Before what" Kurenai asked as Kakashi went a little pale.

"Before the Nara"

Gai and Kurenai looked confused while Asuma just cocked an eyebrow.

Kakashi continued, "Up until that point, the kid had sat out. I would have thrown a kunai or two to get him moving if the other two weren't taking up my attention rather nicely." He finished off his drink. "Neji was the one who approached him, I assume it was the real Naruto that followed him as the others tried to keep me busy. I pretended I was too busy to notice them creep off. You know, getting them to work as a team was part of the test anyway" he spoke as the others nodded along to the story.

"They spent a few minutes speaking to each other, the Nara looked like he couldn't be bothered but…"

"Let me guess. Things got complicated," Asuma finished for him, having originally wanted the boy on his team and now looking like he wished that he'd pushed harder for him. Though, by the sound of it, it was too late now.

"It started off the same, Naruto made another couple of hundred clones, and- no Kurenai! Stop giving me that look, I'm not making it up- At least two hundred clones and no chakra from… it either" Kakashi's voice dropped near the end of the sentence.

Asuma spoke up, "You mean it's all his?"

"I was there that night" Kakashi answered, "we all were, we all felt it's chakra. Trust me if he used it, I would know. Hell, the entire shinobi population of Konoha would know, so yea it's all his. Anyway as I was saying, two hundred clones rushed me. Nothing I couldn't handle at first. That is, until one of them came at me with speed and style completely different than what I should've gotten. As it turns out, both of the other two had henge'd to look like Naruto and were slipping in and out of the ranks of clones."

Asuma's eyes widened a fraction. "That's rather clever. Still though, nothing you shouldn't be able to handle. Not that you shouldn't have let them pass by then Kakashi". He smirked in his elusion to the man's infamous 0% pass rate.

"Oh they'd already passed the moment the Nara joined in. I just wanted to see how good they were at this point. I henge'd into Naruto as well and started using Kawarimi in rapid succession to misdirect the Hyūga. They had no idea where I was."

"That beat them?"

"No, they got the bells off me. I let them, but... not by much."

"What?" Kurenai asked, rather stunned.

"All of the clones as well as the henge'd students, had been slowly been pulling down the zips of their hoodies, bit by bit as the battle progressed. I didn't take it into account and the second part of their plan sprang into action once I was noticeably different from the others. The Byakugan is less effective because of the chakra surrounding their body during henge. I took it as an advantage and they turned my preconceptions against me. It was genius, and so Nara, I could've dusted the place and found Shikaku's finger prints. Neji came at me like a man possessed which turned out to be a faint to make me fall into Shikamaru's 'Shadow Possession' jutsu." He paused. "Hmmmm.. The kids's jutsu isn't that strong yet, I could have easily broken out of it in time and still kicked all of their asses. Still, if I didn't let them win because of _that_ then I wouldn't be able to pass them for anything. I stayed still for long enough and they got the bells."

"T..thats" Kurenai stuttered.

"Impressive? Unexpected?" Kakashi turned to Gai, "goes completely against all previous knowledge?" The man had the decency to look embarrassed. "Yes. yes it does." He took a sip from another drink he'd ordered and smiled to himself. Despite his irritation at Gai, who had misinformed him, Kakashi was rather pleased. His team had power, precision and brains. If he worked this right, they would be Chūnin by the next exams! They weren't that far off and most sensei would have to be idiots to enter a rookie team, but they weren't his team... He smiled beneath his mask as he recalled their reactions to his speech earlier.

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* * *

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Training Ground 7 – Earlier

"Congratulations, you all pass!"

"W..we do?" Naruto stuttered. Neji and Shikamaru were the ones who'd actually taken the bells off of Kakashi and he'd assumed that he'd failed as Kakashi had promised anyone without a bell would by the end of the test.

"Of course we do. Have you ever heard of a two man team Naruto?" Neji asked. "It was an obvious bluff in an effort to discourage teamwork, which inadvertently highlights the themes of the test anyway"

Shikamaru nodded while Naruto just looked at the ground, a little embarrassed that he was the only one to've not figured it out.

"Wait". Neji turned to address Naruto, looking rather perplexed. "You agreed to a plan involving me and Shikamaru actually retrieving the bells, while under the impression that you would fail by doing so?"

Naruto looked sheepishly at him, "Well its not like I'd back-stab my friends by making one of you fail. I just figured if he didn't let us all pass when our awesome plan worked than we could beat him up until he let us!"

Shikamaru spoke up. "Wouldn't happen. He let us win. I could barely hold him in place and he hadn't even really broken a sweat. Look at him, he still hasn't.

"Speaking of me, you know I am standing right here, you know", Kakashi chimed in, sounding a little put out that they'd started a conversation instead of listening to him. They all address their new sensei.

"Do you know what the point of this test was? Kakashi asked.

Shikamaru sighed. "Its teamwork despite circumstance. Can we go now?" he spoke in the most detached, unbothered tone imaginable.

_Maybe they're a little too clever for they're own good. Well, apart from Naruto._

"Listen" Kakashi spoke, seamlessly shifting the tone of the conversation to one more serious.

"In the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. That's what this test is all about."

Their reactions were what made him sure that passing them was the right decision.

Shikamaru had nodded, not surprised, probably having figured it out a few minutes after the test had begun.

Neji had looked at the ground, guild practically radiating off him.

_Good. He learned this lesson the hard way like me without having to actually get someone killed. He'll take it to heart more than the others._

Naruto on the other hand, had given the most priceless expression out of all of all three. It basically said 'duh I've known that forever anyway. I'm actually insulted you think I would ever abandon my comrades'. It was either that or 'I'm hungry and a little tired', but he chose to interpret it as the former.

Kakashi smiled behind his mask.

_These kids will do fine. _

_._

_._

* * *

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Now

Kakashi took another drink, content with his new genin. "By the way Gai, how's the Uchiha treating you?"

Gai began to reminisce out loud, "YOSH! PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR A TALE OF BURNING YOUTH!"

He wished he hadn't asked.

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* * *

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Training Grounds 11 - Earlier that day

Sasuke Uchiha walked alongside his new jōnin instructor in silence until they'd reached the grounds where there were two people whom he assumed would be his new comrades.

"Yosh! Sasuke-kun, these are your new teammates" Gai announced as they neared them. "This is Tenten. She specialises in weaponry and also has a proficiency in seals".

_I can do that. Is that all?_

He looked at the girl with her brown hair in two buns. He would reserve judgement until later.

"And this is my…"

Sasuke turned to address the-

_OHMYKAMIWHATTHEFUCKISTHAT!._

He gawked at the boy, a year older than him, who seemed to be a smaller clone of his sensei in an even more skin-tight, but just as green, leotard. The fact that he had the same greasy bowl cut just made it even worse. He took a breath.

_I should be calm, I don't know anything about these people yet_.

Still though, he wandered at how anyone looking like _that_ could be a shinobi.

"…YOUTHFUL STUDENT LEE, WHO BURNES HOT WITH THE FIRES OF YOUTH!"

Sasuke just stared.

_What have I done to warrant this?_

"Gai sensei, will this be our new teammate?" Tenten asked.

"He will" Gai responded.

She, at the very least, seemed to have no romantic inclinations towards him. That was good, maybe they could work together without any fuss at least. Sasuke nodded at both of his new teammates, unsure of how to proceed.

Suddenly Lee has wipped out an almost accusative finger, pointing it at Sasuke's face.

"YOSH! YOU SHALL BE MY NEW ETERNAL RIVAL! WE SHALL SPAR TOGETHER WITH THE HOPES OF IMPROVING OURSELVES IN YOUTHFUL GLORY!" Lee practically bellowed.

_Come again?_

"LEE! MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT! YOU KNOW JUST HOW TO WELCOME A NEW TEAMMATE! TRULY YOU BURN BRIGHTLY WITH THE FIRES OF YOUTH!" Gai had tears running down his face.

…_what?_

"GAI-SENSAI!"

_What?_

"LEE!"

_What!?_

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"..."

"Yosh! Begin!"

_How am I going to.. wait… what did he just sa.._

_*WHAM*_

* * *

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Shushuya Bar – Now

"…AND THEN THERE WAS MUCH YOUTHFUL TRAINING!"

"Wait, Gai?" Asuma interrupted. "Did you really have your one year Taijutsu specialist let loose against an academy graduate?"

"Nonsense! Lee didn't even remove his training weights!" Gai replied, donning his wide 'nice guy' smile.

"Well that's something", Asuma responded, "how much does he have weighing him down?"

He told them.

"…"

"…"

"Gai you really are too much"

"Thank you Kakashi!"

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* * *

_._

_._

_[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]_

_A/N I decided to spin stuff here a bit and make most of it past tense (Shushuya Bar) is a cannon location by the way. Sorry if you were expecting a moment by moment thing but honestly the whole stations of canon thing is becoming a bit of a drag._

_I actuallly had a lot more fun writing Sasuke's intro into team Gai as it was fresh and didn't need me to look up stuff on Naru-Wiki to see of I'd gotten by cannon right._

_Now to the reviews!:_

_SuperVegitoFAN- _Sorry if i wasn't clear on that but there it is. Most fanfics that cover his childhood like to use this as it's a great bit of back story

imsabbel- Three reviews out of you at once so ill break it down

i) ch7 rev - Thank you, that's pretty much what I was going for. I agree.

ii) ch8 rev -ah I also found it a bit awkward, as i said in the A/N section of that chapter, but it really came out of nowhere for me when i was writing it and I realised that while there were loads of reasons not to learn about his parents (S-class secret and all), but his clan which is now dead, not so much. It was more a way of adressing something which should have been told to Naruto earlier anyway. Don't worry, I'll tie it up point about Shikamaru but I'll address that next.

iii) ch10 rev - Also glad Hinata's not there. Its been done, and probably done better, albeit with a lot more angst in 'Team 8' which currently has the highest fav count on this site so it would really be a pointless gesture. Give me a chance with Shikamaru and the team. Yes he is the brain, but he's also probably the weakest on the team. He's also one of the more stable characters with the fewest issues so I don't need to constantly pick him apart with the amount of narratives that are already going (think about it, there are a lot in cannon and I've only added to them). I'll agree to an extent on the crack-fic thing. I may have gone off a bit too much but remember that Naruto cannon suffers from mood whiplash into crack just as often. I mean playing up Sasuke's imaginative fan-girls, one of which who writes slash fic inside a fanfic is a bit OTT, but then so is baiting them in cannon by having Naruto and Sasuke trip and accidentally kiss in the third chapter of the manga. For that matter so is having a sensei who actively reads porn while testing you, or another who we first meet spying in the women's baths. But again I get what your saying, more serious stuff after this, I'm already in need for rapping up some plot points so there will be drama centric stuff. Hope this has addressed some of the stuff you're worried about. Hope you keep reading!

littlegirl99- Get you mind out of the gutter! I said this isn't that kind of fic... lol. Keep reading, hope you enjoy!

SoulNinjas- Thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it

NaturalSam14- Thanks. Ill try to update as much as I can.

Radiant Celestial Aura (cool name btw)- Thanks. I hope you keep reading!

Hektols- you gave me so many reviews at once that I'm a tittle overwhelmed. Couple of things. A genjutsu user could then just cast it over and over again on him and let Lee stab himself silly. Its a last resort and some genjutsu actually trick one into thinking they cant move. Lee forgave Gaara eventually but the wound was still fresh and there were uncertainties about whether he would ever recover. He's allowed to give the cold sholder for a but without it actuallly changing who he is a a person, especially considering that he DOES recover. Even in the anime Naruto has never used a normal clone as far as i know and two weeks (which was roughly the time until the genin exams) was not enough for him to suddenly get great chakra control considering that he just had too damn much chakra to focus onto a technique with that little demand. Also Naruto is much close to passing the test with Iruka actually pressing him to pass this time. Its Mizuki who draws the line and says no (bringing Lee up to trip him), so in a way he kinda did. The discovery of Naruto's problem is much less an issue for Naruto (though he does learn a thing or two) and more about how the others interact with the situation. Its also when Naruto and Neji met for the first time. Most of your other stuff was positive so thank you for that (I hope I've alleviated some of your concerns). Not sure about the OC thing, It was fun but I might just let it slide with the odd reference rather than developing it into a full on plot point.


	12. Chapter 11

"Gai you really are too much"

"Thank you Kakashi!"

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* * *

Chapter 11 – Known and unknown

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A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving.

— **Laozi**

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* * *

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One month later

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"We're going outside the village?" Naruto asked, brimming with excitement. The boy had been raring to go after day one and was getting positively restless, even by Naruto's standards.

"Yes Naruto, considering your progress over the last month, I though it was finally time." Kakashi replied to the blond who was positively beaming.

_Mphh... to be honest I'm was glad to be moving too. I've had spent far too much time in ANBU to just sit around in the village all day. _

His team had been working rather nicely together since day one and, although Shikamaru's behavior appeared to be somewhat detached for the few weeks or so, he'd appeared significantly more comfortable after that. Although, he still wasn't totally sure on what had happened to change that.

Naruto and Neji on the other hand he was sure on. After a surprisingly well-oiled team had appeared in front of him during the final stage of the Genin tests, Kakashi had only kust come short of outright demanding answers from the Hokage on just what the hell he was dealing with.

Then he'd been informed him of the Mizuki incident.

It all made sense now; Unwanted seals, a sense of social isolation, desire for change yet seeming inability to achieve it. For all their apparent differences they were... remarkably similar.

Yes, Kakashi was confident that his team were ready for a C-Rank Mission after all those D-Ranks he had enjoyed making them do.

...Too bad there weren't any.

Kakashi had reserved a mission to escort some bridge builder who was due to arrive in a couple of weeks. A perfect way to dip one's toes into the water that was shinobi life.

Gai had taken it. He wasn't sure how the man was doing it, but he'd been intercepting all mission requests that he'd sent for. He'd even made sure that other Chūnin had taken all other available C-Ranks for now as well.

Kakashi was sure this had something to do with Neji. For all of his talk about making his student better he was obviously considerably bitter that someone else had '_fixed him'_. He never knonw Gai was that petty. He was clearly trying to prevent his team from completing the minimum amount of C-Ranks to apply for the Chūnin exams which were coming up not too far down the road.

No matter though. He'd talk to the Hokage later; the man obviously had a soft spot for Naruto. Hell Kakashi had been on Naruto's ANBU detail at one point. You don't assign ANBU to someone you consider 'Demon Brat', as he'd heard others mutter and mumble at times.

But, for now, he had another plan.

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* * *

_._

_._

_Oh hell yea! We're gonna be awesome! We're gonna be taking missions kidnapping princesses and protecting despots and… wait… no… other way around… but we're still gonna be awesome!_

"Unfortunately were not actually going to be on any missions"

_Wait... what?!_

"Due to reasons beyond our control, it's going to be difficult to get any missions for the next few weeks or so above D-Rank, maybe even for the next month" Kakashi sighed. "So instead we're going on a training trip".

"What the point if there's no mission?" Naruto sounded."I mean It's great to get outta the village and all, but what we gonna be doing?" Neji and Shikamaru nodded in agreement.

"We'll be going on a trip across multiple terrains. I'll be keeping you off the beaten path so you'll be improving your stamina, survival skills, and speed among other things. I'll also be teaching as we go so you'll be improving at an overall faster rate.

"Sounds troublesome" Shikamaru muttered. "Where are we going anyway?"

Kakashi perked up, "well unless any of you had any place you specifically wanted to go to…" there were no requests. It looked like he couldn't wait for someone to ask him this question, which Naruto though was weird. If he wanted to tell them then why not just tell them?

"We'll be going to the ruins of Uzushiogakure"

_Wait, isn't that... my...  
_

"The Hokage informed me of the interest you'd taken, after you found out about your heritage. As the direction of this trip matters little, I thought you might like to may your respects" Kakashi did his weird eye smile.

Naruto just nodded, a little taken aback. He actually had asked the Hokage about his clan a few days after he found out about them, not just to make sure the stuff the nice lady had said was right, but to ask some other questions as well.

_Uzushiogakure…_

Neji and Shikamaru each put a hand on his shoulder.

He remembered how Shikamaru was after the test. At first he just thought that he was lazy like always, but something just seemed… off. Him and Neji spent loads of time together when they were off duty, but Shikamaru never had. He did his part (barely) but that wasn't good enough for Naruto. He'd always liked Shikamaru and even though he wouldn't say they were proper friends back in the academy, he was one of the few kids who didn't mind paying with him. And of course, Iruka had said he was the one who had told him where he was when that bastard Hibachi, had tricked him into nearly getting himself killed by those Taki kunoichi. Suffice to say he wasn't going to let this slide. When he had asked Neji to help, he'd agreed. After some snooping he found out that he was worried about Chōji, who'd not been doing nearly as well on his own team. Naruto promptly invited (read: dragged) Chōji, Shika, and Neji out for Ramen which he had paid for (at least those D-Ranks gave off some cash) and he spent the entire evening talking with (Read: at) them and listening carefully while eating his Ramen. He ended up doing this twice a week and after the third time he was pretty sure that he could call both Chōji and Shika his friends. Shika started lightening up around him around then as well. He was still a lazy bum and all. Not to mention that he kept mumbling stuff about mysteries which was kinda weird, but he was comfortable around them.

_Ah ramen you're so wonderful, is there really nothing you can't do? _

Still, he really wasn't sure how to take _this. _Was there anything he should do? Something he should take to show his respect? Flowers? Maybe just being there and saying a few words would be enough?

"Of course that's not the only place we're going", Kakashi continued, looking a little concerned at how Naruto had taken the news. "It should take us four days to get to Uzushiogakure. After that We'll also be passing through the capital as we swing southwest. We'll then swing back up north before we get close to the Land of Rivers, back up to Konoha."

Naruto perked back up a bit at the idea of visiting the Fire capital. He'd always wanted to know what it was like.

Shikamaru shot a dejected look at the ground, "…so troublesome".

Neji was nodding apparently neutral to the whole affair.

"Pack your supplies tonight, but don't go overboard" Kakashi ordered. "We'll be living off the land, so there's no point packing more emergency ration bars than your going to need. Hmmm… I think that's it. Meet me here at 9:30 tomorrow. We'll be leaving then."

The three nodded, all leaving together.

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* * *

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"Ramen?" Neji asked.

Over the past month and a few weeks, he had fallen in with Naruto and Iruka's method of dealing with most things with the food stuff. Not really that surprising since Naruto had turned the place into some kind of shrine in which all of his problems could be solved, or at least pondered.

"Na" Naruto responded, "I've got a few things I need to do today. Then I'm gonna get started packing. The capital's gonna be so cool!" He flashed them his usual grin, which Neji thought his heart wasn't quite in, and waved them both goodbye. He decided to give his friend some space to deal with whatever it was he was thinking about.

Neji truly had no idea how he would deal with such a situation. Sure, he wanted to change his clan, turning it on it's head if he had to, but wipe it off of the map? Never. He wasn't going to throw the baby out with the bathwater. The thought of every single one of them, all dead with only him left looking over some ruins was… harrowing.

He bid Shikamaru farewell and left for the compound. Perhaps he would ask Hinata for another sparing match? She'd reacted positively the first time he'd asked, and to his own great surprise, she was leaps and bounds ahead of what he'd had predicted. According to his uncle, she'd taken charge when it looked like her team were about to fail the Genin test and had led them to victory. It didn't sound like her, but then she had seemed a little… different lately. More sure of herself than before, he began musing, not for the first time, about exactly what had happened that day that would force the 'bag of nerves' as he used to think of her into a leadership position.

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* * *

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Shikamaru left for the Nara compound. He was due to meet Chōji later, but he had a few hours for a nap first.

_Sweet sweet napping._

He hoped Naruto would be alright with the whole clan thing, even though it did remind him that he **still **hadn't figured out what the hell was up with him, but the Gnaw had long since grown quiet in frustration over the lack of answers. He smiled as he thought about how Naruto had come out of nowhere a few weeks back and dragged him and Chōji to that ramen stand.

He didn't know how but the moron had figured out what was going on, but he had.

So of course, instead of getting pissed at him for spending time with a member of another team, Naruto had just dragged him, Chōji and Neji out to dinner, which pretty much won his... 'big boned' friend over then and there. He'd then proceeded to talk their ears off, eventually letting Chōji complain about his own problems in return.

Shikamaru already knew, but he was still concerned, when Chōji had told them about how there was practically no unity on the team. Kiba had taken charge, but only marginally. He seemed like he wasn't nearly as sure of himself as he pretended (badly) to be. They just all felt awkward together and usually left as soon as training or whatever D-Rank they were doing had finished. Chōji was pretty damn depressed at the whole thing, which in turn as he tried to deal with it, had ended up with Shikamaru following suit without even realising it.

Then Naruto dealt with all of that with Ramen and chatter. Because, you know, _that's _normal.

_Well I can add social super-powers to my list then. _

Shikamaru snickered as he walked.

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* * *

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Ino Yamanaka wasn't really sure what to make of her current situation. Her parents had asked her to take the early evening shift at the flower shop, which was fine because she could catch up on whatever reading she wanted while she was doing it. People rarely came in during these hours.

Never the less, in came one Naruto Uzumaki. She wandered if he was here to get some flowers for Sakura, like he had that one time before. She'd helped him pick them out back then and was actually annoyed with Sakura when she threw them on the ground after he gave them to her. Sure, she got that she was perusing Sasuke in earnest, but that didn't mean she should treat him like Sasuke treated her. Kind of a double standard if you asked Ino.

_Sakura..._

She inwardly sighed at the problem that was her ex-friend. In all fairness, she had been hoping to re-establish old bonds now that they were on the same team and all. Not that she'd made much progress.

Some though... and she'd take it and keep pushing. She kind of wanted her friend back.

"More flowers for Sakura Naruto?" She asked. "I've got to say, I'm not really sure I can watch another lot get stamped on like that, it was painful."

He flinched as he appeared to remember the debacle, before his face became a kind of serous she hadn't seen on him before.

_Woa, I didn't think Naruto could turn 'happy go lucky' off._

"Uh, what do you know about flowers for the dead?"

Her face dropped a bit as she realised what he was getting at. "I..I'm sorry. Was it anyone I knew?"

She figured it probably wasn't considering her skills as gossip had bordered on spy worthy, but it was still batter to ask.

"Na" Naruto returned, "I'm visiting the graves of some relatives while I'm on a training trip with Kakashi-sensei and I was thinking I should pay my respects, ya know?"

A small respectful smile returned to her face. She was glad it was nothing recent. She wouldn't wish that kind of grief on hew worst enemy. Shikamaru had told her about Naruto's lack of parents a couple of weeks ago and she'd wandered if she would've done half as well as him if she'd been in the same situation. "I can recommend Gladiolas. They usually symbolise remembrance, generosity, sincerity and strength of character. Sound good?"

Naruto's face lit up "That sounds perfect!" he looked down for a moment, "Oh, Uh... Ino, do you know of any way of like, preserving them?"

She frowned, "how far are you taking them?".

"It should take us..." he paused, trying to remember something.

"...about four days to get to the site of the graves" Naruto recalled.

"We do have sealing scrolls that are meant to slow the rate of decay." Ino ducked under the counter looking for one. "They should preserve them while preventing damaged while you're on the move"

Naruto's voice rang out from the other side of the counter. "I'll take one of them too then."

"You know how to seal?" Ino asked asked as she placed a scroll of about half a meter's length on the table. She knew she did, but Ino wasn't about to let him walk out of here and risk damaging the flowers just because he was embarrassed about his sealing skills. That would be such a total waste.

"I can use the basic ones like containers if they're pre-made," Naruto answered. "But I haven't ever tried to mess with them or anything so I'd probably be really sucky at it."

"That's fine". Ino smiled,"We'll seal them here if that's alright with you? That way they stay preserved for longer."

"M'kay". Naruto opened the scroll which was a much lighter shade of red than the flowers he'd been given and channelled some chakra into it, although it looked to Ino like he was really struggling for some reason. Never the less the flowers disappeared inside as they should.

After paying, he left for the exit. "Thanks Ino! Later!" Then he was out the door.

Ino slumped back into her chair.

_Great, now I'm bored again._

_._

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* * *

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Meanwhile Kumogakure – Raikage's office building: Currently under repairs after Raikage's latest 'quickest exit' through the office window.

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"… and that would appear to be it for the day Raikage-sama" Mabui announced.

_Huh, slow day. I might even be able to get off early at this rate_

"There anything else?" Ay shifted in his seat to face his assistant.

"No Rai-… actually there was one matter, but it appears rather insignificant", Ay's secretary corrected herself, rather sure of herself on the matter.

"Might as well get it out of the way though" he said, "lay it on me".

Mabui gave a small smile as she began, "It would appear that one of our informants in Konoha has recently reported in, though I'm not sure what the significance of the report is. Apparently it's about Naruto Uzumaki, the j-"

"Yes yes. Naruto Uzumaki, the current jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Yōko and the only holder of a tailed beast more powerful than Killer B's."He still laughed at the thought that the Hokage considered this fact a secret. Anyone who had a spy in the city in the immediate days surrounding the Kyūbi's attack knew about the boy before the law came into enforceable effect, and even then you could piece most of it together if you listened to enough of the civilians if his spies were anything to go by.

"Well… I'm sorry I'm really not sure why this is important, but apparently he's become close friends with a Neji Hyūga? Apparently the clan member was heard in friendly banter with the boy, discussing plans for elevating the jinchūriki to Hokage"

Ay rose an eyebrow at this, "so what? What is the kid, like 13? No… 12? We're not in October yet. Why the hell would we care about some clan member being allying himself with him? I mean it's not like he's related to Hizashi or anyting." There was still a bitter taste in his mouth from that whole debacle. His father had been the one in charge when that whole shit storm went down and now he was left with one of the most powerful clans in one of the most powerful shinobi nations pissed the fuck off at was just fucking peachy. It nearly led to war because of that fucker of a peace envoy.

Mabui's eyes widened, obviously not having been versed in the incident but having a list of relations documented and available. Ay's expression changed, "Fuck, is he his nephew of something?"

"H..his son"

_Well fuck off was that 'not important'._

"So, Mabui, let me get this straight, just to see if I've got my facts right." He took a deep breath. "The jinchūriki of THE most powerful tailed beast ever known is currently _besties_ of a scorned member of a clan who has good reason to, and probably does, hate our fucking guts to the ends of the earth. On top of this, said Hyūga is helping elevate him to the position of Kage, which, with his help, he'll probably succeed in achieving."

_Please God, don't make me have to deal with another Yagura. One was really fucking enough._

"T..that about sums it up Raikage-sama"

"Mabui, I think this is what we in the business, might generally interpret as a 'significant matter'," he groaned.

She looked more than a little concerned now. "Perhaps I should fetch Cee, Darui and Yugito?" Mabui asked.

"Yes, you probably should, and for that matter I'm going to need all our messenger hawks, especially Konoha's. Best to see if Sarutobi wouldn't mind improving relations. If we make a move on any of them we might end up starting the next shinobi war, so, you know, best tread carefully and all that."

"Of course Raikage-sama". Mabui darted through the door to do as tasked.

Ay knew hiring a ninja as his secretary was a good move. Lots of sensitive information passed through their hands and they were fast when you needed them to be.

_Now then. I'd better start dealing with this mess.  
_

_._

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* * *

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Konoha Gates – 9:25am

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"I think you should tell him" Neji said, breaking the silence between him and Naruto. They were both waiting for Kakashi and Shikamaru, who wer together, the grand masters of 'getting there at the last possible moment'. Although, Kakashi was late as hell altogether if he felt like it sometimes.

"Tell who what?" Naruto responded.

Neji sighed "Shikamaru. About the fox"

"WHAT?! WHY?!" Naruto nearly fell over while blurting this out in response to Neji's rather casual reference. In his opinion he was lucky as hell that the first person around his age who found out about the bastard-fox had been similarly screwed over by a seal. There was a kind of kinship with them. But another person? No way! Muzuki might've been a manipulative dick, but he was right about one thing. People who knew about him and the fox _were not_ his fans, and, considering that most of the village from about six to eight years his senior knew, that was a damn long list of people who did not like him.

_At all._

"We've all gotten to know each other batter over the past month so the possibility that he'd immediately associate you with the bijū is slim. You've gained his friendship with your display of patience and understanding regarding his friend Chōji, who you also befriended. You've also been on good terms with him a lot longer that that. Besides, if he is going to turn on you because of something that was forced upon you, then I'd rather not waste time on developing a friendship that will crumble anyway and neither should you."

Those were a lot of very clever sounding reasons for Naruto. Shikamaru was clever too, so maybe he'd be the same? On the other hand there was that feeling in his stomach like it was dropping that just screamed at him to keep it a secret a for the rest of his life so that nobody else would reject him. The dropping feeling was also putting up a strong argument.

"B..but, what if he… I could mess it up and… what about…. Umm… AHHH! Why are you doing this to me Neji!". Naruto blurted, entirely unsure of what… anything really!

Neji did his little knowing smile, which Naruto usually gleamed back at, "I'm not saying 'do it right this instant'. I just think that, after this point, the longer you delay, the more he'll be offended at your lack of trust in him should he learn of it and not care. In the end your hiding it might even be more of a blow than finding out about the bijū itself."

_Woa, I totally didn't think about that. That would completely suck if he was like Iruka and Neji but still pissed off at me._

"I'll do it later... maybe... when I'm ready"

Neji nodded, apparently realising that this was as far as he could push him for now. They both spotted Shikamaru in the distance.

Kakashi… well he'd be there when he'd be there.

_Maybe I'll tell him after visiting Uzushiogakure. Yea... that sounds about right_

_._

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* * *

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_._

_[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]_

_A/N Spy reveled! He was from Kumo! Also timeskip galore and implications about teams. I did change them up so i figure at the very least I can give a few nods as to how they're doing. And what happened to Hinata?_

_Not responding to reviews for this chapter. Sorry_


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – The Old and the New

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_Hey John  
I could use your advice  
Put my troubled mind at ease  
But your dust don't speak  
To me anymore_

— **Starflyer 59**, "Majic"

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* * *

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Uzushiogakure – Four days later: 8:00pm

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_Wow. Just... Just wow..._

It was worse than Naruto thought. Hell, it was worse than he could've imagined. To him, this level of destruction was just... unthinkable.

They'd arrived slightly behind schedule. He'd only have a few hours to look around, pay his respects, that sort of thing.

Then they needed to move on.

Neji, Shikamaru and Kakashi-sensei had given him some time alone, telling him that they'd wait for him on the outskirts. He'd nodded and gone on, trying to find a good spot to take in his surroundings properly.

In Konoha, it was, indisputably (not that he didn't have backup spots for when chūnin inevitably chased him from sitting on their heads), the Hokage monument. The spot just felt... right.

He was determined to find one such spot for him to properly take in his ancestry, even though he felt more and more sick as he got further into the ruins. Seeing the skeleton of a city like this just felt kind of... wrong.

He finally found what he was looking for on top of a slanted pillar that'd snapped off at an angle. The slant and the uneven break had somehow managed to even each other out, making the surface flat.

He stood on the edge as a strong wind that, while nearly knocking him off balance, felt strangely... right for the current situation.

As he looked out at the river that divided up the ruined buildings, he couldn't help but marvel at a _totally_ inappropriate sunset. It was just mindbogglingly beautiful. The orange rays of light illuminating the water with a glow of the same color made the environment seem slightly less horrific.

There were buildings. Lots and lots of buildings. None of them undamaged though. The best one he'd seen so far was a small house which had _only _had its windows blown, the rotted wooden door hanging by its hinges.

There was one in particular building that'd gotten to him as he stood on the pillar. Even missing it's top half , the structure was still far taller and wider than the Hokage tower. Hell, it was probably bigger as it was than any of the buildings in Konoha! Naruto imagined the kind of people who'd lived there, or maybe it was used for work. He wasn't sure.

Finally, short on time, he pulled out the pinkish scroll that he'd been carrying with him, unsealing the red Gladiolas. He was a little irritated that he couldn't find any temples or graves to do this at, but he'd gotten a great idea a moment ago.

He undid the bouquet holdings and grasped them in his fist.

_Here goes..._

"Um… I'm not really sure if I believe in ghosts or spirits or anything... but I'll start talking... just in case." He smiled a little at the thought of how silly he'd look if someone'd saw him doing this.

He began again, speaking softly. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, which... uh, I guess means I'm related to this place in some way, which is cool and stuff you know? I mean like, because I've never had any relatives or anything, although it sucks cuz, well… this," he admitted, gesturing out over his surroundings.

"I guess its nice to know where I came from in a way, hehe… It's a little like having parents I guess, not that I would know, I mean.. I.. Um... I hope you're doing ok? Uh! for dead people I mean. Um… sooo here I am, saying, you know..."

"Hi..."

He closed his eyes for a moment to just... listen as the wind roared, sweeping through the derelict city.

"...and bye."

He let go of the Gladiolas as a strong gust came along. Swept up into the air as one, they broke apart from each other as they danced in the wind, twirling and darting wherever it took them.

_I think that was... enough. Maybe _

Naruto dropped from the pillar to begin walking back to where his team told him they'd be, but as he started, he noticed Kakashi-sensei leaning up against the wall of a derelict building that was probably well within earshot of where he was.

"Did you…" Naruto began.

"Yes", Kakashi answered. "I was coming to get you but you were... And..." He looked down, a little embarrassed that he'd walked in on such an obviously personal moment.

Naruto nodded, blushing a little at the idea of someone hearing his little monologue as they started walking together.

"I'm not sure if I believe in anything either", the silver-haired jōnin finally spoke. "But… if they were there, then I think they'd have been glad to've met you".

Naruto looked at his sensei. He opened his mouth to speak for a moment, but then closed it again. He felt a smile creep across his face.

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* * *

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Kakashi smiled back at Naruto through his mask, beginning to get caught up in his own personal ruins.

_Nothing wrong with talking to the dead at all. Hehe, I mean they are wonderfull listerners... _

_...Right Obito?_

_._

_._

* * *

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The Hokage Tower

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_Oh, for the love of... this could be very bad..._

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Third Hokage of Konohagakure, 'The Professor', took off his hat and ran his free hand through what was left of his hair. He blamed this job for that. It was full of stress. To many decisions. Too many lives.

Today was the same... and not. It was the same because once again, there was a massive decision to make that was forced upon him by circumstances unknown. Then also not, because, just... wow.

In front of the man was perhaps one of the most unexpected things to've happened to him since he found out that he'd be taking up the blasted hat again.

It was... a letter.

A letter from Kumogakure to be precise.

That'd managed to put him and everyone else who knew of it on high alert right then and there. Considering that Kumo was currently_ the_ most powerful military power in existence now that Konoha's 'Yellow Flash' was no more, combined with the fact that Hiruzen was relatively sure that the only reason that they'd not invaded was because another nation, probably Iwagakure, would take full advantage of a temporary weakness and invade them in turn. It certainly wasn't because of Konoha's alliance with Suna, considering that the nation would probably abandon them on the spot. Unfortunately, even if they didn't, they would only serve as an equaliser at best.

He passed the letter to his closest confidants… and Danzō. Currently in the room were said operator of a hidden branch of ANBU (as if he didn't know), Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado. They read in unison, brows darting up and eyes (or eye in Danzō's case) widening in the correct places.

_Good_. _At least I'm not so senile as to have not understood what this entails_.

"It's a trap". Danzō spoke first, with Koharu and Homura nodding in agreement, although they seemed less sure of it.

Hiruzen sighed. "Read the rest"

They looked a little embarrassed as being caught stopping once they had perceived to have gotten past the meat of the proposal. Apart from Danzō, who'd just looked irritated. Then again, that was his default expression, so really, who knew?

Eyes danced while brows rose and fell once more.

"They want to make a play for the _It_ then, rather than just our kekkei genkai" Danzō amended, before continuing. "Not just kidnapping the container either, I would bet they're going to try and win him over. With the amount of other villages involved in this along with the extra shinobi that would be allowed into their village, any military move made would result in utter chaos for all sides, regardless of involvement, especially Kumo."

Hiruzen nodded in agreement. As much as he detested the war-hawk's politics, the man knew how to be paranoid, he would give him that. "So you all recommend refusal?"

Koharu and Homura were about to agree when Danzō interrupted, "we should accept". All eyes lied on him now. "As much as we should value our resources, the balances that have been allowed for will safeguard us to an extent."He sighed. "Of course, none of that matters as all villages are going to accept because everyone's going to accept."

The others looked at him, a little perplexed. Danzō continued, "No village, especially none of the great ones, can afford to look week by turning this down when they think they'll be the only one doing so. Hence, none of them will."

Hiruzen cringed.

_Blast it. He's right. There's really no choice involved here at all._

"The only matter that truly concerns me is their offer, should '_It' _make it that far."

The Hokage nodded. "What do you make of it?" He asked.

_They certainly have made a rather interesting offer_.

"It's probably a double edged sword which, while helping them, will attempt to convert them at the same time," Koharu spoke.

The Hokage smiled. "I thought as much. We need not worry about that then. Loyalties are not a problem when it comes to this one. We'll take their help and be all the better for it."

Danzō appeared unsure, but had to agree that the situation was largely unavoidable anyway (after all, he'd said it).

"Are we all in agreement then?" Nods all around came in response.

"Very well then. Send a messenger hawk confirming our consent regarding their proposal."

_This is either going to go very well or very... very badly. Oh well, at least there's time to inform the jōnin-sensei in advance._

This year the Chūnin exams were being held in Kumogakure

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* * *

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"Oh come on! Please?"

"No Naruto, that's not what water jutsu is for," Kakashi rebutted at the blonde.

After they'd gone on their way from Uzushiogakure, things were largely as expected. Shikamaru had mumbled complaints about being tired, Naruto had been silent for a while, probably thinking about his recent ordeal, while Neji had remained largely quiet because that was just how he usually was. They'd made camp after gaining the amount of distance Kakashi expected them to.

On their first night away from the village Kakashi was horrified to find that Naruto had packed what looked to be, a never ending supply of ramen cups. This rather undermined the whole 'survival' portion of the trip, as it actually seemed that he had enough for the entire trip. Really, at this point, he shouldn't have been too surprised by this.

While they'd gotten a fire going, there were, unlike other nights, no immediately convenient fresh water supplies available. Naruto had then had a, 'totally awesome idea', and asked him to use a water jutsu for him so he could boil some water to make his ramen. Hence, the disagreement.

_Is it lazy for not looking for a proper water supply? Or is it clever for saving time?_

Still though, the boy had shared without having been asked to and it would likely cut his supply down to a week's worth at most, which was still impressive. Still though, he was almost out, this was probably his last night's worth. Their sensei decided that it would be best to let them burn through their luxury supplies before having them hunt their own meals. They could still fall back on their ration bars if they needed to. They were healthy, nutritious and utterly disgusting. The near-perfect motivator.

S_econd only to the risk of starvation._ _Ahhh, happy memories!_

"Naruto and Shikamaru. Both of you can go fetch some water to use for Naruto's ramen... Neji?"

The boy nodded and the fain whisper of 'Byakugan' could be heard. "There's a river three quarters of a mile southwest from here." He inclined his head in the direction of said river so nobody would have to dig out their compasses.

"Thank you Neji. Well, off you go then!" Kakashi smiled.

Naruto was already leaving, muttering about 'lazy sensei's'.

_Whoever could he mean?_

Shikamaru just sighed as he rose, following Naruto.

"Kakash-sensei?" Neji asked after both of his other teammates were well out of earshot. "Did you, per chance, listen to a conversation that Naruto and I had before we left on this trip"

"Hmmmm... why do you ask?"

"This is the seventh time you've arranged a situation where they would be alone with ideal circumstances for a private conversation"

"Really? I hadn't noticed" he remarked nonchalantly as he smiled.

Neji shot a small smirk back.

_Is it lazy that I'm trying to create a situation where all the members of my team know about Naruto because I don't want to keep up the cloak and dagger language anymore?_

_Or is it clever for saving time?_

_._

_._

* * *

_._

_._

_Well I guess this is as good a time as any._

The pit in his stomach was still screaming at him.

_**No it's not! Delay! Stop! He'll hate me, just like the others! He'll be the same! they're all the same... that look...**_

_But we're friends! Things are as good as they're gonna get for this. It's like Neji said, right? Why waist time being someone's friend if they're just gonna turn around and hate me later?_

**_NO! STALL! WAIT! DELAY! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! HE'LL HATE ME FOR SURE!_**

_NO! YOU'RE WRONG! SHIKA'S A GOOD GUY! WHAT IF NEJI'S RIGHT AND STALLING MAKES HIM ANGRIER? THAT WOULD BE THE STUPIDEST THING EVER!  
_

**_'...'_**

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* * *

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"…What is it then Naruto?"

They'd both already found and filled their containers with water, but Naruto had been silent for the entire duration of the journey. Normally he'd have been content with this but, there was something about his teammate that was… off. They had started to head back when Naruto started speaking.

"Shikamaru there's something I need to tell you. I don't really want to... but... we're on the same team so I know I need to... It's just… This is... scary for me..."

Shikamaru looked over, concerned by his comrade. "Okay"

_Is this about his unusually high chakra capacity? Maybe t__he_ _way the villagers act weird around him?_

Shikamaru racked his brain. He'd desperately, manically even, been trying to piece together what the hell was up with Naruto. The levels of weird were off the scale, especially the looks from people around him. It wasn't just a puzzle anymore. There was something wrong with his friend and he didn't know what it was.

That. would. not. stand.

There were few things the Shikamaru would put aside his laziness for. Friends in need were one of them. He was missing something though! He could feel it!

The blond answered him. "H..how much do you already know about me?" he asked, his voice shaking a bit in contrast to his usual bombastic and confident self.

Shikamaru thought for a moment. "Insanely high levels of chakra and stamina, little chakra control, from an old clan that used to be famous for seals…". Naruto looked a little shocked at that last part. Shikamaru'd done some reading on his clan to see if they had any of the traits that Naruto displayed. But, apart from a slightly stronger life-force, there was nothing that would explain the boy walking next to him.

"Hehe… seals. That's kind of ironic… at least I think it is."

Shikamaru nodded.

S_eals? How's that relevant? There was his introduction... and Neji... does he have one like that too? But why would he?_

"I...I was born on October tenth".

_How is that... no... waitwaitwait... seals... bad looks... freakish chakra... October Tenth._

It hit him.

"I'm an Idiot..." was all he could say.

_It was right in front of me! This explains everything! The fourth Hokage killing the most powerful __bijū..? Despite the fact that nobody had ever managed to kill even th_e One-Tail for good? I bought it that? Hook line and sinker like some sucker! and it's stuck in Naruto! the guy who a painted Akimichi tatoos on the statue of the first Hokage?! Oh Wait, I should probably say something...

"You were born on October tenth..."

_G__reat going genius_.

He shook himself a little. "So it's... sealed inside you?"

"Y..yea. G..got a p..problem with that?" Naruto was trying to sound aggressive, but ended up showcasing how utterly insecure he was even more.

"I don't really care." Shikamaru snapped back, a little aggressively at the implication. "Your still the same troublesome idiot I know. Now I just know you a little better"

_and... you may have helped me figure out stuff that's been bothering me for waaay too long. _

He snickered as they walked back to camp.

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* * *

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Naruto kept walking beside Shikamaru.

_He doesn't care..._

**_He called me an idiot._**

_Y__ea, I'll get him for that later, but focus.  
_

**_He said he doesn't care..._**

_Yep._

**_Gonna play it cool?  
_**

_Totally.  
_

**Like I was expecting him to say that?**

_Like it was the only thing he could say.  
_

**_Because this isn't a big deal..._**

_Water off my back __man. People been disrespecting me for years._

**_Yea its all good._**

_Just filling him in on a few things..._

**Not even a problem.**

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* * *

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"Naruto... are you... crying?"

"YOU'RE CRYING!"

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* * *

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_**...Nice comeback. **_

_I know right?_

_._

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_._

_[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]_

_A/N So that was um.. alot of stuff to get through. It took me two re-writes to get this. I was going to have Shikamaru present a logical argument as to why he didn't care but I liked this more. Obviously there was some more emotional stuff in here (took me ages to find the right song to set the mood for myself to write this. 'Tom Odell - Cant Pretend', if you must know)._

_Next chapter will be a little lighter with the Capital (which I may take liberties with as I can find almost no info on it). Also, maybe a little wave arc..._

_I am also changing the names of the Kumo ninja back, specifically 'Killer B'. Reviewers have spoken, and I've been convinced that there is little point trying to over complicate things. 'C' may still be 'Cee' and 'A' is definitely still 'Ay' (the latter so we don't all go insane from grammatical interpretation of a sentence that involves him). _

_The Hyuga incident did happen before Ay came into power right? because the wiki is REALLY not that specific. I mean I've said it so its cannon for this fic, but still, I'd like to know if I'd gotten it wrong._

_Reviews (only responding to current chapters now):_

_SuperVegitoFAN- Stuff has already been said about your stuff. So keep reading and... stuff._

_whitedorumon - Follow away and thank you for reading._

_imsabbel- After google-ing 'WEEABOO' (at first I thought it was just a swear word for five year olds or something). Again, addressed. I'm Keeping Ay for practical reasons. Also if they have no letter A then would the correct spelling for them not be the phonetic spelling?_

_Tacturn - Good review  
_

_littlegirl99 - Thanks_

_Hektols - You may not have to wander for much longer._

_MapleVamp (do you stalk the night in hunt of syrupy goodness?) - Thank you. I shall try to keep them coming  
_

_Neomistress - (=New Mistress?... Kinky) - I still have tingles from your review. It was awesome and lovely and made my day a little. Congrazzles indeed._

_MINOR SPOILERS - Quick heads up to some. This fic was for want of a nail in the same universe until soon. I'm going to be doing a little speculative AU-ing on some of the Nin-animals that never really got explained properly. I'm not making anyone take a gender flip or anything, so its truly minor. Just a little heads up is all_


	14. Chapter 13

"Naruto... are you... crying?"

"YOU'RE CRYING!"

...

_Nice comeback. _

_I know right?_

* * *

Chapter 13 – Snake Eyes

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_"Never ignore a coincidence. Unless you're busy, in which case, always ignore a coincidence."_

-The Eleventh Doctor - _Doctor Who_

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* * *

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_Whoa... just..._

_...Whoa  
_

The Capitol definitly lived up to the hype.

It was gorgeous and, for Naruto, a little slice of heaven. For starters, the people here had no clue who he was. To them, he was just another punk kid. He'd found that his abilities in sneaking around had gotten pretty damn good over the years and now that he wasn't an orange beacon, he could do it even better.

Naruto had also realised what the other half of those massive buildings that he saw in Uzushiogakure actually looked like as they towered above him like…

…_I can't even see the top a' somma' them. How come Konoha doesn't have stuff like this?_

He was truly in awe of the tides of people just... going about their business. Not that many shinobi either. Apparently most of the guards in the city were only trained swordsmen and-

_...Huh._

Naruto took a brief moment to ponder how much he'd been conditioned by Konoha, considering that he'd just perceived the city's guards to '_only_' be fully grown swordsmen.

They'd gotten to the Market district when Kakashi had stopped them.

"Well my students, it's time to start a training mission" Kakashi announced as he did another of his (quickly becoming) infamous eye-smiles.

Naruto whooped, hoping for some awesome jutsu training. Neji's expression grew more stern while Shikamaru let out an exasperated sigh.

"This mission is all about securing the means for survival in a variety of different ways." Naruto pouted at this as Kakashi stuck a hand into his pouch and pulled out some money. He gave each student 2000 Ryo each.

"This will be your mission. The 'Grand Fire Hotel' charges 7000 Ryo for a night. Each of you has been given some starter money. With this money, or without it if you so choose, you will all attempt to gain as much _more_ money as possible towards this aim. If you fail to gain enough money then only I will be staying there along with whoever else we can afford, in descending order of monetary gain.

"W..what happens to people who can't afford to stay in the hotel Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto inquired tentatively, obviously dreading the answer to his question.

"I'm glad you asked Naruto!"

_That damn smile again._

"If we can't afford for all of us to stay, then those with the least money at the end will be camping on the outskirts of the city, securing... _other_ means of survival. Also, if you come back with less money than I gave you, then I'll be sure to have you _work it off _in the most horrible manner possible."

Neji and Shikamaru looked puzzled at what he was (jokingly, Naruto hoped,) implying. Naruto on the other hand had grown up dirt-poor and knew of some of the ways people _worked off _their debts.

_I'm not going to be one of those people, ever, _he mentally assured himself.

He knew he would ace this. Neither of the other two clan-born had ever had worry about their next meal. True, the Hokage had bought an apartment for him after he got kicked out of the orphanage at seven. Also true however, was that the money that was supposed to be sent to help with food and other necessities, halted after two months and stayed that way until he was nearly twelve. Apparently, someone had been siphoning off the money from some of the orphans on government allowance. Naruto had sadly been a little happy that it hadn't actually targeted him specifically. He, as well as some other orphans were surprised to learn that they would be receiving all they were due at once. Of course by then he had already learned to 'acquire' what he needed for himself when he needed to, as it was also likely the others had to as well. Still, a massive lump sum just before his twelfth birthday had been, in Naruto's opinion 'pretty rad'.

He knew he could pickpocket that much in a few hours if he had to. Not that he wanted to. He _hated_ stealing from people he didn't know. He would always end up imagining the most tragic back story for them like… ever, usually involving the money he took, being their final, last and utterly depended upon lifeline. He'd quickly resolved to get to know anyone he tried to rip off. After all, it was the least he could do.

This had led some rather _interesting _bread-winning exploits for Naruto.

"Kakashi sensei?"

The man looked over at him. "Yes Naruto?"

Naruto thought of the best way of putting his next question. "How… legal should the ways of us getting the money be?" His two teammates both looked a little shocked that he'd been the one to ask this.

"Well Naruto, I definitely think there should be no bodies as that might be a little difficult to explain."

The blond arched an eyebrow in response, obviously not amused at the implication, joking as it may have been.

"Hmmm, apart from that? I guess all I can say is that it's all fair game. Well… as long as you don't get caught. If you do..."

Kakashi let the atmosphere grow tense as he let his sentence linger.

"...then 'I don't know who you are and those headbands are fake'. M'kay?"

There were sharp nods. They knew their sensei probably wouldn't abandon them, but it was still a solid threat that he wouldn't be happy if they ended up in a cell.

"Well then. I'm off to go enjoy the sights. Make sure that you enjoy yourselves too!" He disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto made a mental not that he absolutely had to learn that.

_I could scare the crap outta Sasuke-Teme if I learned that. _

Naruto turned to Neji and Shikamaru, who already appeared to have begun thinking of ways to gain money. "So, um do you guys wanna work together on this?" Naruto asked. "I mean, I can get my money easy enough, but it might be better if we work as a team to get as much as possible."

Both Neji and Shikamaru looked at him strangely. Neji responded first, "What do you suggest?"

"First off we pool our cash. You spend money to make money and you spend more money to make more money."

They both nodded.

"Neji. Can you see through walls with your Byakugan?"

"I can."

"Okay. How about paper?"

"What you mean?"

"Well, okay. This is what I was thinking"

He told them

"..."

"..."

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* * *

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Kakashi eavesdropped from a distance, having never really left them. He sighed.

_Well that's one way to go about it. Although its rather… unorthodox. _

Kakashi sighed.

_Really, by this point I should just associate that word with Naruto. Well, lets try it.  
_

_"Hmmm Gai, what was that? you want another race through the city on our hands? How very Naruto of you"_

_Oh, that works rather well, doesn't it?_

_._

_._

* * *

_._

_._

Otogakure

"What response do you wish me to bring Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto queried with his usual level of sadistic playfulness. "We should probably reply soon, given the circumstances".

"Quiet" Orochimaru snapped in a rather hushed tone of voice. He frowned as he looked at the two messages.

One was from Kumo, which he was relatively sure that all the other villages had received as well. He had no idea what on earth Kumo was up to, but they'd thrown a wrench into his current plans, which was confirmed by the second letter.

It was from Suna. The Kazekage had promptly informed him that, like every other village, theirs was to accept so as not to appear weak and as such, they were pulling out of their temporary alliance which was to overthrow Konoha during their previously anticipated hosting of the Chūnin exams.

_Three years of planning. Gone. in an instant. I feel like Jiraiya's going to jump out at me any moment and go, 'gotcha!'. _

Orochimaru chuckled for a moment at the mental image, which to his utter delight, unnerved Kabuto, who so far as he knew, was at the very least, a triple agent who had loyalty to him, only by the smallest of margins. He'd always marveled at how Danzō and that puppet wielding scourge had lost such a useful tool. Not that he particularly cared. Their loss, was quite literally, his gain

What really unnerved the snake Sannin was the more-or-less ultimatum, demanding his public presence. Not just him, but all Kages, or other leaders with an alternately expressive title representing as much, were all but demanded to attend. He couldn't have his start-up village being the only one not to partake when all other villages appeared to be sending their leaders. Then of course he got to the amendment, which while forcing him to question whether Kumo had a solid informant in his village, had changed his mood, utterly.

It read as such: '_If perchance, Any leader or other representative high ranking ninja were to be wanted by a participating village, including the host village, then they may rest assured that full diplomatic immunity will be granted to them. This is extended to them for the duration of the exams, providing, of course, that they do not commit any crimes against any of the participating villages throughout said duration.'_

This was... well..

_Magnificent_

He burst out laughing. He tried to keep it tempered and creepy so as to unnerve his triple agent/ medic more, but for the life of him he just couldn't. It was a true laugh of genuine amusement. No, amusement was far too subtle a word for this kind of situation.

"Orochimaru...sama?" Kabuto asked, thoroughly unsure of his current situation. "How should I respond?"

"Tell Kumo that, 'yes, our ninja will attend, and yes their leader shall of course represent them'".

_Oh yes_. _I may not get to invade that pig-pen of a village and kill that fool Sarutobi-sens... Sarutobi. But this might be even better. I'm going to walk into a powerful foreign village amongst every important nation and their respective leaders. All of which have me in their bingo-books as Kill/Flee on sight with a bounty upwards of 50 million Ryo on me. And thanks to this… diplomatic immunity extended to all visiting ninja, including their leaders during the exams… they won't be able to touch me! _

_Not. One. Hair._

_Now all I have to do is figure out how to infect the Uchiha with my curse mark without getting caught. Konoha might not be able to touch me while I'm there, but if they spot the curse mark on the boy, fingers will be pointed and I'll have little defense against __**every**__ ninja nation attacking me with their best and brightest all at once._

_No, on second thought, perhaps I should delay the implanting of the curse mark until after the exams. I'll test the boy by sending a team or two after his life, just to make sure he's worth the trouble, but It's far too dangerous for me to make such an obvious move. _

He wandered at what the old man's facial expression would be when he saw him striding into Kumo in Kage robes and had. He would have to have a picture taken immortalise it.

_Oh yes. This will certainly be… interesting. Perhaps I'll run into Tsunade while I'm there? This kind of event is bound to attract gambling, even more so than before. She'll probably be the first in line to doom some poor genin team by betting on them_.

Orochimaru was not a superstitious man, but he had seen her so-called 'luck'. She could bet on both sides of a coin and have it land on its edge... if it didn't blow up mid-air.

_Perhaps she'll bet on all of Konoha's teams... _

_._

_._

* * *

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The Capitol – The same time – A certain underground poker game.

Tsunade sneezed

"You doing alright there lady?"

"Ahh?" She turned to look over at the blond. "Mind your own kid."

"Whatever", he retorted. "It's your call" She shot a small frown towards the kid who couldn't have been older than 13.

He had, for lack of a better phrase, been 'cleaning everyone out'. Although, unlike most times, this included everyone _but_ her. The kid was definitely a shinobi. After being forced to take his hood down when he'd entered the room, she alone, had immediately homed in on the tan-line left from where a forehead-protector usually called its home. After that, the brat who she had only not complained about joining, because she initially took him for easy money, had been steadily ripping off the rest of the room. She however, had noticed the signals given to him in the form of subtle shadows, seemingly cast without a source. Shinobi and shadow tricks of course clicked in her head as she recognised where they likely came from. She still hadn't figured out where the jutsu caster actually was, aside from that they certainly weren't in the room. She also didn't know how he was getting the info either. The other payers certainly weren't pushovers and guarded their cards like overly protective parents.

"I fold" She announced as the boy let a shimmer of dejection appear on his face before appearing smug that she had fallen for some kind of bluff. She'd managed to ascertain what the signals he was being fed meant, and as such, was managing to dodge losing money to the kid. The others of course, weren't so lucky.

The Kid had walked in with barely enough for a few hands at most and she was rather certain that the other players had decided to allow it, only to teach the kid a lesson.

_Ha! Well this certainly teaches them. Who's the 'Legendary Sucker' now ya bastards?_

The kid had…well… a lot of money. Too much if you asked Tsunade. She would've been quite happy to have relieved him of it if the kid's source of info wasn't so damned impeccable. She didn't bet against him when he was in and vice versa. At best she'd been making a steady gain, whenever he'd folded early. If only she could find the Nara then she could cast a lovely little genjutsu on them.

As she surfaced from her musings she realised that the kid, as expected, had won the hand.

His last hand, as it turned out.

"Well," he yawned as he stretched his arms above his head, "I think that's about it for me. I'm cashing out." The other players gave solemn, relieved nods at the ejection of the player who had been winning without any viable, provable methods of cheating. Tsunade knew, that in the Capitol, you got the same punishment for getting caught cheating as you did for accusing someone of it without proof. Their silence at his winnings and his leaving with them proved that they all apparently rather liked their hands attached to their wrists as they were.

"See ya kid" She spoke as she turned in her seat to the door as the kid moved for it, barely able to hold that much cash. "Go play with shadow puppets or something"

His face turned white with an expression that she would savour almost as much as her alcohol before nodding deftly and leaving rather faster than before.

She turned back to the other players who, in a total lack of jutsu savvy, hadn't picked up on her rather large hint.

A smirk beyond her apparent years spread across her face. "Now boys…" She began.

"...Shall we continue?"

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* * *

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'Grand Fire Hotel' – Later

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"Ahhhh these beds are the best!"

Naruto exhaled. Everyone had gotten enough money for their own room in the end.

_They all looked at me like I was insane when I told them my idea of supreme awesomeness. But who's comfy now! I Am! Well… they probably are too but that's beside the point! _

Naruto began to reminisce about his astounding moment of genius.

_Hehe… Ya wanna a risky quick way to up ya cash? Gamble. Ya wanna a quick way to safely increase ya cash? Play poker with a Byakugan user backing you up. Also, note to self; I shouldn't play card games with Neji from now on._

He'd managed to stumble into his first game when he was younger, largely under the same pretense as this time. Only back then the really was just some idiot kid who needed to be taught a lesson about gambling, rather than just pretending to be. Like this time, things had gone well for him then too. Not because he was any good at it, not at first anyway. Naruto had found that, when it came to cards, he was just really, _really _lucky. One of the other players back then had muttered about him having some kind of karmic luck, which in retrospect made a hell of a lot more sense to him now than it had back then.

Naruto had quickly found an underground game much to his teammates' (lessening) surprise and had been the one to actually sit at the table. Neji had camped out at the side of the building , using his Byakugan to see inside and, to his great relief, also what hands each of the players were holding. Shikamaru had been in charge of relaying messages to Naruto on whether he had the best hand or not with his shadow manipulation signalling into the dimly lit room. Slowly, but surely, as Naruto threw a few hands so as not to seem too suspicious, his pile grew in size. Naruto guessed that one or two players may have been hustlers, but shinobi abilities were probably outside of their expertise. The only time he'd actually been worried was when one blond woman with the massive… personality had scared the crap outta him. She definitely knew. He'd suspected while he was playing and knew for certain after she nearly exposed him outright as he left. Neji had only confirmed as much when he admitted to having had nearly pulled him out when he noticed that she was practically bathed in thin, yet noticeable, veil of chakra.

According to the whispers of the other players, they weren't happy with her either. Apparently the lady had a reputation as some kind of looser when it came to betting and they were all looking forward to some extra cash. When Naruto had eventually decided to call it quits he'd earned a _colossal_ amount of money. To Naruto's pleasant surprise, nobody had tried to make a move on him when he tried to leave with his winnings, mainly, he thought, because they couldn't fathom how some 13 year-old brat who should've been easy pickings, would've cheated them.

Now they all had separate en suite bedrooms with the softest mattresses that Naruto had ever had. Kakashi had even decided that as a reward, they would be staying at the hotel for an extra couple of days to burn through Naruto's winnings.

_Ahhh life is good. I kinda wish I knew more about sealing though. Then I could take this awesome mattress with me when I go. Huh that's kind of a Shika thing to think.  
_

Naruto sat up as he heard someone knocking on his door.

"It's open!"

Neji and Shikamaru came in.

"Yo! what's up?" Naruto chirped.

"You and Neji are coming up to the roof with me", Shikamaru ordered. "I haven't had a good chance to relax and watch clouds since this troublesome trip started and its better with company."

Naruto nodded and they began walking up the flight of stairs to the roof, all three of them ignoring the 'staff only' sign on the door to the roof. Naruto actually enjoyed the prospect slightly more now that he knew he wasn't allowed.

They all ended up lying next to each other… just... staring up at the sky. Naruto had to admit, it was a perfect day for this kind of thing, although he was already getting kind of restless.

"So…" Shikamaru announced.

"So…" Naruto responded

"So…" Neji followed.

"Apparently we're going to make you Hokage…" The Nara started

"Na," Naruto responded, "I'm gonna make me Hokage. But if you wanna help…"

"What? Want to? Hell no" Shikamaru retorted. "Sounds ridiculously troublesome. It'll take years of effort and careful planning to get you into that position, and that's without the stigma you've got on your back. Not only that but one of your reasons for wanting to become Hokage is redundant."

"Huh?", the blond responded, not quite willing to admit his understanding of the word 'redundant' was… limited.

"Why do you want to become Hokage?", the Nara droned, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible.

"Oh! So that people will stop treating me like nothing and give me some respect! Then I'll change a buncha stuff that soulda been fixed ages ago too!". Naruto replied, beaming.

"The second part aside, you've got it the wrong way around." Shikamaru retorted, still staring up at the clouds. "The Hokage is respected but you don't gain respect for becoming Hokage, you have to already have the respect to get the position in the first place."

"But... the Hokage is still the protector of the village. Right?" Naruto inquired.

"Well yea but…"

"Then that's still what I wanna do. People keep acting stupid for even stupider reasons, like tradition and etiquette.. or fear, shit! Fear's the worst! They act like those things are some kinda excuse to do dumb shit that makes people miserable! So fine. I'll get people's respect another way and _then _become Hokage! I thought the village was good to everyone but me cuz I had the fox. I was wrong, there are lots of problems and I'm gonna fix them. He turned to Shikamaru with his feral grin.

"Wanna help?"

"Sounds troublesome…"

"Thanks."

"When you get the job, I want a one for cloud watching"

"I'll give you an office with a glass ceiling"

"...Less troublesome"

Neji finally spoke. "I feel like history is going to judge me for not doing anything to stop this."

"Aww don't worry Neji. I'll make a job where you can act all broody and stuff"

"T..that's not what I… Never mind."

They continued to stare up at the clouds, oblivious to their sensei's watchful eye, beaming with pride.

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* * *

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[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]

Yes, the 'woah', is a call back to the prev chap's 'wow'. I am not trying to be lazy with my inner monologue writing.

A/N Been a while. Its Uni exams. They are a drag, They are not done. I am being very irresponsible for even writing this now but I felt like i needed an outlet on stress and three 9am multi hour exams will do that to you.

I _LOVED _writing_ Orochimaru. There was just something about that vindictive trolling glee that i enjoyed writing when he realized that he was getting the next best thing to what he'd planned. Of course thinking in line with him, the look on the Hokage's face will certainly be awesome. They'll be forced to share an observation box with one another as well as the other Kages. Will write with glee as the snark sniping will be epic in a enclosed environment where everyone hates each other, yet can't risk attacking._

_No love for reviewers in this chapter as I'm tired right now, but I have read ALL of them, make no mistake._


	15. Chapter 14

Neji finally spoke. "I feel like history is going to judge me for not doing anything to stop this."

"Aww don't worry Neji. I'll make a job where you can act all broody and stuff"

"T..that's not what I… Never mind."

They continued to stare up at the clouds, oblivious to their sensei's watchful eye, beaming with pride.

* * *

Chapter 14 – 'Moments in time', or 'Ninja Tortoises'  


.

**Fake Kidnapper**: Come on, get in the trunk!

**George**: What about my ankle monitor?

**Fake Kidnapper**: We have an _ankle monitor deactivator!_

**George**: Oh, good. See, I've been meaning to get one of those...

_Arrested Development_

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* * *

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Team Gai's training ground

"….Yosh! My youthful students! Today we shall be embarking on a C-rank mission!" That part Sasuke had heard, even if just barely. The one good thing about that lunatic's speeches was that Lee seemed to forget whatever it was he was doing and turn to the latter half of what looked like his 'before and after image'.

Sasuke gasped for air.

Over, the last month or so, Sasuke had been through the most vigorous training of his life. From his first day, in which he was ingloriously beaten down, hard, by Lee, to today when he was…

Sasuke looked himself over.

_Nope. Still getting my ass handed to me by last year's drop out who can only use Taijutsu._

He cringed.

_This is pathetic. I'm getting stronger. I know I am. I can feel it! But he keeps putting me down, even when I use ninjutsu! _

Lee had been unceremoniously squashing any sense of achievement Sasuke had been feeling over the past 46 days or so, all while spouting rhetoric about complacent geniuses or some such nonsense. That of course only got him to try harder.

_How dare he accuse me of slacking? I've always applied myself!. _

At least that was what he'd used to think. Around a week ago though, he'd realised that it may have been a form of goading, which he then reprimanded himself for not noticing earlier.

"Of course Gai-sensei!", Lee gushed.

Up until his first day on team Gai, Sasuke had never seen the male variant of fangirls. The 'Fanboy', as it turned out was, in Sasuke's opinion, just as irritating, even when one was not the object of their worship. Sasuke finally regained his breath from this morning's 'sparing_'._

"What's the mission?" He asked, displaying as little emotion as possible.

Gai turned to address him with hi-Sasuke shivered- 'Nice-Guy smile'. "WITH ME MY students! TO THE MISSION OFFICE! YOU WILL FIND OUT WHEN YOU ARRIVE THERE!

_I swear he could put that level of enthusiasm into anything._

Sasuke trudged alongside Tenten while Lee and Gai took off at full speed.

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* * *

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"Whataya mean I should give up!" Naruto burst out as he left the Capitol with his team.

Recent days had been enjoyed in luxury thanks to Naruto's winnings (with the help of his teammates of course) and Kakashi-sensei's insistence that they couldn't just show up back in Konoha with that much cash on them without accusations of freelancing, a four way spending spree had ensued. Kakashi-sensei had _gallantly_ insisted to carry some of '_the terrible burden'_ for his students. He'd never known how much fun shopping could be. Well, 'shopping' as in allowing whatever caught his eye to seduce him into paying for whatever it was they could convince him he absolutely could not live without, most of which was food. Now thought, they were leaving and having a conversation that Naruto really didn't want to have.

"I mean, that I only attended the academy for around a month and even I could see that your affections for the girl were being steadily rebuffed, as is her right if she so wishes." Neji responded, in a deadpan manner that frustrated him to no freaking end.

_As if you could logic romance._

"That doesn't mean I can't win her over!" Naruto responded heartily. He was going to be an awesome Hokage level shinobi. Then she'd stop acting like he was some kinda dork and like... swoon... or something. He hadn't thought that far ahead yet.

"However she has clear romantic inclinations for the Uchiha". Neji sighed as he spoke, exasperated at how, he too, had been drawn into this argument.

The blonde winced.

"He doesn't even like her… or anyone really!", Naruto announced.

"And, while I'm sorry to have to be the one to say this, she feels the same way about you." Neji looked a little awkward as he saw the slightly pained look appear on Naruto's face. "To continue pursuit, despite knowing how she feels is to disrespect her feelings, which is to disrespect her, and there is no point perusing someone you don't even respect. Just because the hypocrisy regarding her own pursuits eludes her, doesn't mean it should elude you." Neji finished, appearing especially stern.

"Those were a lot of… words" Naruto finally let out. He had understood a lot more than he was going to let on, but he really did need a moment to process all of that.

Shikamaru chuckling at his response also wasn't helping.

"So… your saying that I have to stop liking her?" He asked tentatively.

"You cannot control how you feel about someone, to try is foolish. All I put forward is that if you hold her in as high a regard as you have proclaimed to, then you need to respect how she feels."

"Oh…"

_Damn, that actually made sense. At least I think it did...  
_

"So what should I do then", Naruto asked, quickly coming to regard Neji as his go-to for advice on romance, a position he would come to flee from with the greatest of effort over time.

Neji, still ignorant of his new position, appeared to contemplate his answer for a moment before answering. The irony of the fact that he hadn't ever been in a romantic relationship either had not escaped him. "Well… it is not as if you currently reside on the same team as her. Current contact with her is minimum, regardless. I would say you should merely speak to her with respect while in her presence and not push for anything beyond friendship." He frowned as he finished, "Does that help?"

_Huh. Respect. Can't really argue with that. S'not like I can really do anything else. Hell, respect's like, one of my biggest goals. Naruto Uzumaki is all about respect!  
_

"…OK"

"OK?"

"Yea… OK". Naruto gave a miniature version of his usual smile. He then had another thought which blew it up to inhuman proportions.

"So Neji. Who do_ you_ Like_?_"

The Hyūga tripped.

_Gotcha._

_._

_._

* * *

_._

_._

Konoha Mission Office

"Whats this? They're all a bunch of brats. Especially the looser in the spandex".

_Ughh. I can smell the stench of alcohol from here._

Lee began to stare at the floor in a kind of melodramatic depression, while Gai-sensei appeared decidedly more serious and professional in the presence of a serious client. "I asure you", the jōnin began, "they will be more than adequate to handle this mission. Two of them are have already completed multiple C-rank missions while the other was hailed a prodigy by the time of his graduation. Aside from that, I Maito Gai, am of jōnin rank. If that is not enough, then this is not a C-rank mission."

The drunk muttered some more about children protecting him but largely seemed placated.

"Considering how much he drinks, the only thing we're likely to be trying to protect him from is gravity" Sasuke muttered. Tenten snickered while he frowned, having not intended for anyone to have heard his not so silent outburst.

"Yosh!" Gai announced. "Let us begin this youthful mission!"

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* * *

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Somewhere in the Land of Fire - Later

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"Gah!"

Naruto fell to the ground again, having only made it about four feet up the tree this time.

_This sucks! Shika's twice as far up the tree before he falls and Neji's already mastered it altogether! Alright one more ti-_

"Naruto!" Kakashi-sensei called. "It's time to gather food for dinner. That is, unless you'd prefer a nice, healthy ration bar?

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* * *

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Kakashi watched as his student abandoned his training with superhuman speed.

_Oh yes…_

…_The perfect incentive._

_._

_._

* * *

_._

_._

Somewhere else – at a later time – inside a certain somebody

.

'_Dear Sage, this is boring' _

The Fox leaned on his elbow nonchalantly as he considered his situation. The seal still held strong and there was little for him to do. In the past few months he had practically rejoiced at the return of one of his previous pastimes as the seal loosened some of its restrains to allow his host larger access to his chakra. He could now, if only for a few moments, gain access to the boy's senses. As far as he knew, he had only just become recently aware of his presence.

_Rather irritating really. If that brain dead fool with the violate hair had kept his mouth shut, I could have tricked the boy with more ease when he arrives in his mind-scape, as he is bound to eventually._

He looked at his current surroundings.

_Then again, considering what I look like and the visual representation of my prison, it's unlikely that he would respond well to; 'My dear fellow. Would you be so kind as to peal that important looking piece of paper away from the middle bars of this prison? No no, it doesn't do anything; it just really ruins the atmosphere of the room. An eyesore on a prison that otherwise, really comes together. Nothing integral to your very being at all'._

He chuckled for a moment at the thought, but then noted that his laugh had created a rather ominous echo which made it seem rather more melodramatic than before_._

_Interesting. I wander if this construction was made by that man in order to prevent attempts at deception. I really hadn't given any thought as to if this pace's looks actually meant something._

He made another push for awareness outside of his cage, but was only greeted by idle chatter with the boy's kind before being blocked back out by the seal.

_I really must hand it to the mortal. I don't think I've ever encountered a seal quite like this before._

_._

_._

* * *

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Land of the Waves – Later

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"Boar"

"Dog"

"Bird"

"Monkey"

"Ram"

"Summoning Technique!" Black symbols surged through the ground, powered by chakra and blood. Smoke boomed into existence, dissipating to reveal a...

... A Tortoise.

"Gai! You have some nerve to summon me after this long and... and dammit what happened to you?!"

"There is no time. I've opened too many gates for far too long. If I'm not dead by the time I've closed the gates, then it is unlikely that I shall be of little use for the remainder of the mission. Fulfill your duty as an SOS tortoise.

"Understood sir."

And with that he'd darted off in pursuit of the nearest friendly chakra source, with speed entirely unfitting for his species.

"Gai turned for a moment to scan for his students who had held themselves together_ magnificently_ if he may say so himself, even in the face of such an unmitigated crisis. He wanted to instruct them further on what they needed to do, but he figured they would all know anyway. Regardless, if he wasted any more time with his gates open he really would die, which in his opinion would be 'most un-youthful'.

His students watched with growing concern, as the intense aura of chakra dissipated from him.

"…ai-senei!" He heard, in an impossibly distant manner

He faded into unconsciousness, hoping that he'd be lucky enough to wake from it.

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* * *

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10 hours later – 3am – Northeast of the land of waves.

.

The SOS turtle had barrelled through the landscape in the general direction of Konoha for around 9 hours before finally finding something promising. He shifted direction accordingly.

_Friendly chakra sources detected._

_Numbers – Four_

_Affiliation - Currently unknown. Likely Konoha.  
_

_Location – Specifics unknown. Estimated distance from known cities or villages large enough to speculate camping within wilderness._

His eyes focused as he came within recognition distance of the sources.

_Two Genin level chakra sources in addition to Two Jōnin. Hmmm, one of them has chakra like the boss's.  
_

The SOS turtle focused more, but was desperately careful. Gai had given him only a certain amount of chakra to sustain the link. While he could supplement it with his own, he still needed to remain careful regarding his chakra usage, less he find himself summoned back from his mission prematurely.

The SOS tortoise smiled.

_Jōnin chakra source identified – Gai's eternal rival._

_Other known aliases: Hatake Kakashi_

_._

_._

* * *

_._

_._

_[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]_

_A/N Sorry couldn't resist the use of shelled ninjas within the titles. You'd think cannon would have tried to make a joke or two about it, even if they're not turtles. Anyway, im regressing to some shorter buildup chapters with more broad narrative as we look at others as time progresses quickly, hence, the first title.  
_

_Cannon confuses me at the moment. Chapter 631 definitely made the whole 'never gain' thing make sense. But the lack of visable remose or any lasting repercussions makes things s'eem a little disjointed. Lucky I've been re-reading wave arc for this fic, so my sympathy for the guy at a high point. I've also been reading **'****Dreaming of Sunshine'** by **'****Silver Queen'** which is utterly brilliant and if you haven't read it yet then go read it. Like right now. Its my favorite and should be yours too. I seriously cannot stress that enough._

_I always wanted to have a look at what Kurama was up to while not talking to Naruto. I'd always imagined it was kind of boring. Can you imagine getting that bored?_

_We're now coming upon the arc that most fanfics touch upon, but of course with the twist of different people being there._

_The point that I might get criticism for is the anti Narusaku talk so allow me to explain my train of thought. I'm not particularly Sasusaku (not that against it either), its just that as of academy graduation he hasn't really distinguished her from any of the other fan-girls. I don't feel like bashing Sakura too hard, or at all really. The only thing I have on her is the hypocrisy of her own rejections while getting rejected herself. This was not a 'if you love her, let her go' speech. At this point, he's 12/13. Its a crush, if a rather persistent one. It was, in my opinion, a combination of a, 'she's really not that into you' , with a bit of 'if you cant respect what she wants then whats the point?'She's not an object or position to be won like Hokage, where if he just works hard or keeps trying, he'll get it (although someone might not become Hokage that way either). She is her own character with her own desires, one of which, unfortunately for Naruto, Is Sasuke not the blonde. I always thought that that needed to be pointed out to him and Neji's 'no nonsense' bit did, that well enough.  
_

_What happened to Gai and his team? Not to worry, you shall not be left unsatisfied._

_This chapter, as well as others, arrives late because of proof reading. I finished this about 4 days before submitting, and I'm still not catching everything which is infuriating. I wish I had someone to read over my drafts for me. Writers know you the 'in your head narration', sometimes blinds you to what you've actually written if that makes ANY sense. Alas, new to fanfiction, I have no such help._

_I swore I'd get past 30,000 words before I tried starting anything else, so I cleared that one. Yay! As such, __I am to start working on at least one more fanfic: _

_i)Another for want of a nail which I think you'll really enjoy (keeping the plot under wraps until i've figured out the finer points).(UPDATE: 2 NOT YET PROOF READ CHAPTERS DONE ON THIS. COMING SOON)_

_ii) The other one will be a crossover with FFXIII. IF I do do it, I should note I was be inspired, in premise, by '**Legend** **of the** **Defiers' **by **Gravenimage. **Just the basic premise though. Check out the 600,000+ words beast to see what I mean. It won't take you that long to figure out._

_My a lot of rambling in this A/N isn't there?_

_I've hit over 11,000 views! lots of love for that_

_Reviewers!:_

_I'll be grouping the general praise together because I have the same response (pretty much): victoris, LuxEterna1, nhwaun1 and Tacturn for my last chapter. "ahem. You all rock. the encouragement is wonderful."_

_SuperVegitoFAN- __I think that I get where you're going there but I'm just going to try and get by the best I can with it._

_Anon - Thank you for explaining the plot to everyone, but I'm hoping to make a go of that myself. Love that you love the story and I hope you keep reading._

_Limellule __- "Type your review for this chapter here..."_ I honestly have no idea what to make of that. But... okay?

Fuyutaro son, GunnerRyuu , KyokaraMaohfan and Darklife21 - As with the top three, the general support is fantastic. As for the question about sealing arts. As far as I'm aware, it requires fine chakra control, which as we know, Naruto just doesn't have. Not his fault. There's the closest thing to a god's worth of chakra inside him to control, but still, that road feels a little Marty Sue as it would ignore one of his actual flaws.

CS - I'll try for point one. I'm still developing my own manner of writing, which is why I'm all over the pace a bit. Apologies in advance as i try to work it out. I covered punctuation in my rant about the larger amount of time I'm devoting to proof reading. Point 2? It takes retrospect to see it. But really When you're the last surviving student of a guy who leaves behind his only son, orphaned, it kind of yells out to you. Not my original idea though. I first saw a much more obsessed variant of it used in the '**First Try**' series. Great fanfic series by the way. you should check it out if you haven't already.

Hektols -Thank you for reviewing again. You always keep me on my toes where plot is concerned. I don't want him to be full of cliches either, but I find it hard to believe that he didn't get at least some street smarts while he was growing up the way he did, so i wrote around that idea. It also wasn't Naruto specifically being targeted. Someone was skimming off of the books and many children were losing out on their support. For all their deadly assassin-ness, Shinobi still need accountants, which is actually a rather runny concept. Anyway, like in real life, sometimes they'll get corrupt ones. While I didn't clarify on this, you can probably guess that Naruto being a coincidental victim of it was what got the guy noticed and caught eventually anyway.

Thanks for reading and I'm sorry to any reviewers I've missed.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 – Response in Aftermath  


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**Dilbert**: Would you like to join me on a daring commando raid?  
**Dogbert**: Sure.  
**Dilbert**: Do you want to know why?  
**Dogbert**: Not really.

— _Dilbert_

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* * *

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"Look, all I'm saying is that it would be cool."

"For the last time Naruto, I will not be teaching you any 'super badass awesome jutsu_', _**at least** until you get the tree climbing exercise down," Kakashi responded to the blond who, as time when on, he discovered got more irritating, the more bored he got.

"How am I even supposed to know how much progress I'm making?" Naruto retorted. "We keep moving west so I can't stick to a single tree to look at my progress! I got no idea how good I'm even doing!"

Neji cut in. "As of today you have progressed two and a half meters from yesterday. Six from when you started. I estimate that, at your current rate, you will require three more days before you gain chakra distribution abilities in your feet to the extent that you can use the technique freely. Six without having to think about it"

"Oh. Well… ok then" Naruto responded. The dejected expression on his face quickly returned to his usual bubbly self.

_I swear. _Kakashi thought. _I'm not sure what I'd do without Neji on this team. He always seems to know just what to say to shut him up._

In any case, they were coming to the end of their journey soon. In a couple of days they would arrive at the Tanigakure border, or at least as close as they were willing to get. After that, it was back up north to Konoha. Kakashi would be lying if he said that he wasn't looking forward to getting back. He had _a lot _of reading to catch up on after he bought the new special editions of the latest instalments of the Icha Icha series with Naruto's...

...'Ahem'...

...With Team 7's winnings.

_Well this certainly has been a wonderful success,_ Kakashi congratulated himself._ Good training, practical experience outside the village and even some team building. I must be the best Sensei ever. At this rate nothing can go wro.. Oh shit! No! I didn't actually think that! It was a slip up! I swea.._

*CRASH*

One of Gai's patented (as in nobody else would ever use one of them) SOS tortoises smashed into a tree, only a couple of feet away from Naruto.

"What the shit!" Came the blonde's eloquent response.

Kakashi looked up at the sky for a moment, as if scanning for any omnipresent creators whom he may have offended by tempting fate, even if only in thought.

There were none he could see.

The tortoise dislodged itself from the tree, looking far less shaken up than Naruto was.

"Kakashi Hatake", it spoke. "Immediate Leaf assistance is requested on behalf of Konoha shinobi Maito Gai"

"What's the current situation?" He responded, just barely concealing a tone of voice that really didn't give a damn about him right now.

"Little time was given to exchange information. However, the request comes from the Land of the Waves, projected location of rendezvous being the under construction, bridge connecting Wave and Fire. Currently, Maito Gai is likely suffering from severe chakra exhaustion, due to prolonged opening of his gates."

That snapped Kakashi out of any mood he may have been in. Gai had been training his 'Eight Gates' for years and was the only known shinobi in existence who could hold them open for extended lengths of time without ripping themselves apart. To open his gates for an extended period of time, to the point of crisis even, marked out a serious situation. But he couldn't just dart in there with his Genin team in tow, he had responsibilities too...

_Wait. Genin team…_

"He should have been accompanied by three Genin rank shinobi, perhaps low Chūnin level. What of them?" His own students had perked up at this. Naruto had recovered from the shock and had taken an interest in the conversation, probably just out of interest at a talking tortoise while Shikamaru appeared to be taking a casual interest. Neji on the other hand was showing signs of genuine concern, fear washing over his face.

_Right, that was his old team._

"Again, my information is limited as I set off as soon as I received my orders. However, I did notice three as you just described before I left. They appeared to've taken part in whatever battle had occurred, yet not to have received any outstanding injuries."

Relief swept over him. He turned to his team. He knew what the answers would be, but he needed them all the same. "All right, two choices. We can either.."

"We're gonna go save them" Naruto interrupted, not his usual loud self. He sounded like he was observing the weather.

'_T__oday will be sunny, with miner spells of saving comrades'  
_

Kakashi looked at the other two members, both nodding in unison at Naruto's declaration. "Well," he sighed. "I suppose that saves us some time." He turned to the tortoise summon, who appeared rather fatigued now.

"Land of waves. Bridge under construction. Got it." In truth, Kakashi might've needed a bit more to go on if he hadn't looked up the location while he was scouting out the same mission for his own team before Gai had snagged it. But, that was neither here nor there.

"You've done your part. Rest. We're on our way."

The tortoise nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Kakashi turned and smiled at his team.

"Well then, shall we go?"

_Hmmm. I think I'll save the day first, then mock Gai second. No, that won't do at all. If possible, I should make a shadow clone to mock him **while** I save him. Yes that sounds about right._

Little did Team 7's sensei know, that his line of thought was dangerously similar to a certain student of his.

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Land of Waves

_._

_If Gatō sends another shinobi __ on that level __after us then we're dead._

Sasuke got up from his position lying against the wall to patrol the perimeter outside again, nodding at Tenten as he passed her. She was currently attending to Gai-sensei, who still hadn't regained consciousness, having taken over from Lee so that he could finally get some sleep.

The mission had been an unmitigated disaster.

After an attempted ambush from two Chūnin level shinobi, 'The Demon Brothers', which Gai had put down with more enthusiasm than was likely healthy, Tazuna had come clean about the true nature of the mission. How he'd actually fudged the mission details so that they could afford the mission and had actually been hoping for a squad of Chūnin. Gai had asked them if they had wished to continue the mission. Tenten and Lee had agreed immediately after hearing the old bridge builder's sob story about the mercantile tyrant Gatō. Sasuke had agreed, considering it a good opportunity to increase the speed at which he improved, which, he considered, was probably another reason why Lee agreed so quickly too.

What they hadn't counted on however was that Gatō was quite happy to raise the stakes, once he learned of the duo's failure. The bastard had sent a freaking A-rank missing nin after them!

_Momochi Zabuza;_ _Demon of the Hidden Mist. Damn glad I won't be seeing him again._

As he stepped outside, he allowed the fresh air to hit him. He closed his eyes and took a breath, thinking back on the battle.

Gai-sensei, was up against his worst possible opponent. Of course he only understood why, after Lee had explained what opening the 8 gates meant. Zabuza had immediately realised that while the gates were open, he couldn't win in a straight up battle. But then, they were shinobi and there was no call for such a battle between them. The Demon had hidden himself within the mist, dragging the battle on for as long as possible. He'd, luckily made the mistake of sending water clones after Tazuna. While Sasuke, Lee and Tenten were roughed up while protecting the bridge builder from them, Gai-sensei had used them to triangulate Zabuza's position. It only took a few, _very _fast, _very _strong hits to get the guy on the ropes. Not that he was weak, far from it. Gai was just _that_ good.

Then came the another variable.

Sasuke remembered the Hunter-nin. He couldn't have been much older than him, and yet, was on a whole other level.

_That's the kind of strength I'll need of I want to find Him._

He may have been worn down, but that didn't do much to diminish how impressive his use of senbon against him was. A few moments later and he was gone with Zabuza's body, which was actually pretty convenient for Gai-sensei as he collapsed into unconsciousness moments later, after summoning a tortoise of all things and sending it out to look for other Konoha shinobi.

He still hadn't woken up yet.

Sasuke felt powerless as he threw kunai at a tree trunk. Inari, the grandson of their employer's little speech about how they were 'all going to die horribly' at the hands of Gatō really hadn't really helped much.

_Useless _

_Weak _

_Nothing _

_I was a big fish in a small pond back at the academy. Now look at me! Both of my teammates are miles ahead and I'm pretty sure we just dodged a conflict with someone only a couple of years older who could've been at jōnin level._

_Pathetic _

His kunai missed its mark. He looked down at his hand to realise it was shaking. He suddenly realised how arrogant he was being. He had thought that with enough effort, he could solo his way to strength. That his improvement was his own. But now…

_I've been getting better, faster, since I graduated. Who's to say they my team isn't responsible for that? Taijutsu, weapons, ninja wire. They offered to share everything they learned with me at the drop of a hat and I acted like I was too good for their help. Like a child who'd been given a meal they didn't like! They've already been out of the academy for a year, I should have taken the gifts they offered me. _

Like an Avenger should pass up on any opportunity to get stronger.

He felt shame welling up inside him. Dark thoughts swirling like a tempest within.

He felt cold.

"Sasuke?"

His head snapped round to see Tenten. "Y..yes?" He croaked, not quite knowing why.

"Come inside. You need sleep, the same as us", she said, donning a 'you know I'm right' look.

Sasuke only just realised when she'd said it, but it was night.

_When did it get dark? How long have I been just standing here?_

She smiled as he began to walk towards her.

"Tenten" He whispered as he passed her in the doorway"

"Yes?" She responded, smiling like she wasn't at all fazed by her current situation.

"T..thank you."

"For what?"

"Just thank you"

"Oh… Okay"

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* * *

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"Excuse me. I don't suppose you've seen a day have you? Why? Because we're here to save it!"

"Idiotic", Shikamaru responded.

"Nonsensical", Neji concurred.

"Well then you guys think of something then. We've gotta say something cool when we arrive! Kakashi-sensei! What do you say when you arrive to rescue someone?"

"Hmmm. How about, "Sorry I'm late, I'm afraid I got lost on the path of life.' "

"My bad I forgot you don't say cool things. Neji what about you?"

Kakashi took up a pose of mock dejection, which, to do while running at high speeds, was a thing to behold.

"I will be encountering my old teammates who, as far as I know, despise me and wish nothing to do with me. If anything I shall be saying 'hello', before excusing myself." Neji snapped.

Naruto mirrored the pained look upon him for a moment before snapping back into smiles. "OK, but we have to say _something_ when we arrive."

Shikamaru finally spoke. "How about, 'you wouldn't believe who we ran into?"

Naruto looked confused. "Why'd we say that?"

"Because they sent out a tortoise with super speed. It explains why we're there and is also a light topic so Neji doesn't get pulled into anything too unconfortable"

_Right, no arguing with Shika. He's usually right anyway._

"Okay then, who's going to say it?" Shikamaru responded to Naruto's question with a slight gesture to Kakashi-sensei, who himself responded with an eye-smile. Naruto nodded, a little sad that the conversation had died.

He had wanted to start up a contest for who could think of the best one-liner before they arrived. The person who thought up the best one would get to say it when they arrived.

_Oh well, I guess I'll just have to hang back. Was gonna be kinda awkward for Neji anyway._

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[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]

A/N

I know, we were so close to a reunion! Too bad, so sad.

Big news! I have a new Naruto fic up (another 'for want of a nail'). It's called 'Luck and Anarchy' and can be found on my page or by clicking on the link, if it works, at the bottom of the A/N section. I hope you check it out!

Not much happened in this chapter to allow for some recaps of off-screen stuff with team Gai. I also wanted to touch on some of the things that are inportant to each of the characters before they all met up again. Sasuke is complex, so I thought I'd touch on that subject for a while.

I'm glad for the positive thoughts on the Neji's talk, last chapter. I was worried about how that would go over.

Hektols - Already messaged you about what you said

whitedorumon - Naruto' isn't using or attempting or display any chakra. Kakashi is putting his out there openly as a warning to potential attackers and they're not on an infiltration mission as of then.

SuperVegitoFAN - I get that and thanks. I'll probably not be doing it any time soon as I've already got 2 fics on my hands right now.

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Link to new fanfic: s/9332388/1/Luck-and-Anarchy


	17. Chapter 16

"Okay then, who's going to say it?" Shikamaru responded to Naruto's question with a slight gesture to Kakashi-sensei, who himself responded with an eye-smile. Naruto nodded, a little sad that the conversation had died.

He had wanted to start up a contest for who could think of the best one-liner before they arrived. The person who wrought up the best one would get to say it when they arrived.

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to hang back. Was gonna be kinda awkward for Neji anyway.

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Fate, Chaos and Plans – Chapter 16 – Course on Collision

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Like nothing you've ever seen before  
Watch closely as I open this door  
Your jaws will be on the floor  
After this you'll be begging for more

-Saliva - Ladies and Gentlemen

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Tazuna's house – Tuesday - 3pm

_._

_This is going to be **awkward**_.

Neji clenched his fists as Kakashi-sensei moved up and knocked on the door, physically flinching with each knock.

_'Sorry about that whole fate thing that I held onto. Ha. Ha. Ha. How's the arm?' Oh god nothing I think of is making this any better._

The door opened slowly as a woman, Neji guessed, in her late twenties, with long, dark hair, opened the door.

She was then pulled back immediately as Sasuke came up in front of her, a kunai raised. He seemed to recognise Kakashi, but only began to let his guard down when he saw Neji and Naruto, recognising both immediately, followed quickly by Shikamaru.

"Ahem", Kakashi began. Naruto's posture reeked of anticipation

_Wait, is he really going to…_

"You wouldn't believe who we ran into_" _Kakashi announced. Naruto looked like he was about to burst with pure unadulterated joy.

_He actually said it…_

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "… A giant, talking tortoise?"

"YES!" Naruto screamed, pumping both fists in the air, before realising everyone was staring at him. "I..I mean yea, we may have met one…"

Neji and Shikamaru couldn't help but chuckle at Naruto's euphoria over the success of their arrival pun. He'd probably deny it to the grave, but even Sasuke scoffed.

Kakashi sighed, before growing more stern. "What's the situation?", he spoke .

Sasuke nodded, gesturing them inside. "Maybe you should see".

They followed him inside.

_Here we go._

They entered what Neji assumed to be the dining room. Wasn't much to look at but then he'd admit that clan extravagance hadn't really left him the most informed about 'normal' living conditions. Upon spotting Tenten Neji felt an intense urge to flee.

The recognition was instant, the slight widening of her eyes betraying the same shock she'd experienced at the hospital. Neji didn't blame her, he wasn't expecting this either.

And then it was gone, her eyes shifting briefly to his teammates, finally settling on Kakashi-sensei. "You're our back up?" she queried. Kakashi nodded. "Gai-sensei's upstairs with Lee. He just woke up this morning"

"Wonderful", Kakashi-sensei chirped, his cheeriness drenched in sarcasm. "I'll see to him then. You three will get the run down from his students, while I speak to the man himself. He began climbing the stairs.

Silence lingered for a moment. Naruto shifted, having always had an aversion to lack of noise for, certain reasons. Shikamaru looked mostly bored but shot the odd glance at Neji. Neji himself could literally feel the sweat rolling down his neck.

_Dear lord, this is awkward._

"I'll make some tea", the dark haired woman interrupted, seemingly sensing the tension in the room to some degree. She moved smoothly towards the kitchen.

"I'll help you Tsunami-san", Tenten spoke, following behind her. Neji hoped that he'd gained a brief moment of respite. Then there were thuds on the stairway, far too soon for Kakashi-sensei to have finished. He'd sent Lee downstairs while Gai briefed him. When Lee finally got to the bottom of the stairs and noticed Neji, there was the same spark of recognition. His face grew stern as he stiffly nodded at Neji.

_Well, at least he admits I exist._

The awkward silence was on the cusp on returning when a blonde hero saved the day. Never had Neji been so glad to have the wise master of ceaseless and inconsequential small talk at his side.

His golden haired comrade burst into action. "Hi! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Future Hokage!" Naruto came up on Lee and shook his hand, classic mile-wide grin in tow. He turned his head a little, "and I bet this bastard here didn't tell you anything about me did he!" The words were harsh, yet the tone eluded to humour, almost friendliness. More shocking was that Sasuke actually looked like he was playing along, instead of just putting up walls, like Neji noticed he did around the fangirls.

"Hmph. What's there to tell? Lee, this is my year's dead last." His brain apparently caught up with his response, subconscious as it probably was. His eyes widened as he realised what he'd just said.

"Ah! Naruto-kun!" Lee burst forth, casting away any lingering awkwardness... for now at least. "It is an honour to meet you! My name is Rock Lee! And I too have lofty ambitions!" Lee inhaled deeply, "I shall be the first shinobi to reach jōnin rank, entirely on merits of my taijutsu alone!" He flashed a 'nice-guy smile'.

Naruto returned, with an even bigger smile, showing off his miniature fangs. "Cool! But how come? I mean why not use everything you got?"

Lee, instead of grimacing, puffed his chest up with pride. "Stunted chakra coils have left me, without the ability to perform genjutsu or ninjutsu. Yet I shall not be deterred! I shall prevail, no matter the challenge! Proving that a genius of hard work can overcome a natural genius!" He inclined his head momentarily in Neji's direction.

Well there _**that **__is. God, I think I actually missed this.  
_

"What about a natural genius that works hard? Naruto asked, clearly wandering why talent and effort couldn't go hand in hand. Neji knew that Naruto looked to Sasuke as a source of motivation, as a rival of kinds. Naruto would never admit it, but this was because he possessed both talent _and_ the motivation to develop it. Not that anyone who knew, really liked to discuss Sasuke's… motivations.

Lee clenched his fist in what he would've likely labelled 'youthful determination'. "Then I shall just have to train harder!" He declared, jumping over the hole in his logic with the promise of yet _more_ training.

_Very him_.

Shikamaru interrupted the hyper members of each team as Tenten and the woman named Tsunami returned with the tea. "Would someone just tell us why we're here already?" He sighed. "I could've been back in Konoha by now. Instead, I'm stuck listening to two people who talk with more energy than I fight with."

"Explains why you suck at it", Naruto quipped.

"I could make you slap yourself, right now if I wanted to."

"Sasuke", Neji interrupted, before Shikamaru made good on his threat. "Perhaps if would be so kind?" He asked, figuring that he was the only one on this team who he could really ask.

Sasuke nodded grimly as he took his place at the table. The others, including Neji followed suit, with only Tsunami opting to return to the kitchen, absolving herself of shinobi business. "Alright", he began, after taking a sip, his expression not giving away any thoughts on his beverage.

"Here's how it went down"

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Gai's Room – About 3 minutes ago

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Kakashi noticed Gai's cringe as he came into the room.

_Good_, _at least you have the common decency to be embarrassed_.

He stood over him for a moment, next to Lee, before shooting him a look. Not an aggressive one by any means, but he understood. This was a jōnin only conversation.

Once he'd left, Kakashi began. "Well Gai, I can see you've outdone yourself this time. No wait, sorry, I meant done yourself in."

He winced. It was a relatively tame insult, compared to the ones he'd been considering anyway. But seeing him like this had given Kakashi cause to give the Gai some slack.

_Gai some slack? Guy some slack? Hehe._

The usually green clad jōnin, was laid up in bed, covered mostly in bandages.

"Report"

Gai took a breath before starting. "The mission began deviating from what was advertised as we neared Wave's borders, with two lower chūnin shinobi attempting, and horribly failing to beset us. After ascertaining why the mission was under-ranked, with confidence boosted and desire to fulfill the mission intact among myself and all my students, we continued the mission."

_Not **too** bad. I'd probably have ended up doing the same with any half-way competent team._

"Our real problems came about before reaching our destination. We were accosted by Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist and A-class missing nin." Gai Continued.

Kakashi's eyes widened momentarily. "Hmm, I can see why that might ruin someone's day. You defeated him at the cost of personal injury I assume?".

"That's why I sent for aid. He's not dead"

"What?"

"While I clearly held the advantage as our battle came to an end… we were... interrupted."

_Outside parties always complicate matters. Usually not in good ways either. _

"A young hunter-nin appeared, apparently killing Zabuza, before apologising for his infringement upon our battle and leaving with the corpse."

_That doesn't sound too bad. Actually that sounds brilliant. _

"So far, I see little reason for you to have called me and my team here. I mean It sounds like-" Kakashi started, but trailed off.

_Although, don't most hunter-nin… Oh no. _

"...he left with the body instead of disposing of it on the spot..." he finished.

"Indeed" Gai, agreed. "I suspected the moment they left with the body." His face allowed a flicker of shame to appear upon it. "Unfortunately, by this point I was in no condition to pursue. Zabuza had turned the battle into one of attrition, forcing me too keep my gates open for far longer than I usually allow. By the time it was over, I had exhausted my body, nearly to the point of no return.!

Both Kakashi and Gai knew that any shinobi who left all their gates open long enough, had a certain limit, which, once passed, would spell the end of them. The technique would kill them after they deactivated it if a shinobi passed the so called 'point of no return'. Gai had been lucky not to have crossed his.

"What did they use to fake their death?" Kakashi asked.

_Depending on the method, we've only got so much time_.

"Senbon", came Gai's reply.

_Senbon, mid-battle? That's… impressive. _

Gai interrupted Kakashi's musings. "Taking into account, the injuries I inflicted upon him, chakra exhaustion on his part and the use of the 'false death state', I would hazard an informed estimation of a weak, at least, for Zabuza to recover. Two, if he wishes to remain cautious, however, as long as he thinks I was his only real threat, he may assume haste to be the better part of valour.

"And you?" Kakashi queried.

Gai cringed. "Currently, movement beyond the most minor is agony. I fear the muscles I tore apart from over-usage could delay full recovery for a month. It'll be at _least _three weeks before I'm able to move normally again. Hence you're presence."

Kakashi sighed. There wasn't too much he could really berate his comrade for at the moment. He'd gone up against an enemy with an unfortunate skill set, as many, otherwise unbeatable shinobi have. Yet, he still made it out with his life, his team, the mission and enough common sense to call for back up. All in all, Kakashi could deal.

"So; train my team and yours simultaneously, while keeping an eye on the bridge and those involved in its construction until completion?" Kakashi summarised rather cheerfully.

"That would seem to be the most youthful option", Gai concurred. Kakashi noted the 'youthful', as an indication of his returning spirit.

_Well, we can't have that. Not yet anyway._

"Alright Gai, I'll take it from here. Get some rest for those weary bones of yours, '_old man' "_. The effect was immediate as Gai attempted to burst from his sheets in protest, but was quickly hit by immense waves of protest from his, well…_ everything_.

Kakashi got up and exited the room, extending a casual wave as he left. As he came downstairs, he noticed both teams drinking tea. Naruto looked uncomfortable in the socially (for him) formal situation, while the others seemed to be in varying states of ease.

He noted that Sasuke was finishing off his own iteration of events and had led quite nicely from where Gai left off.

"…-ter Gai-sensei passed out we took him here to Tazuna's house." Sasuke reported in a rather monotone manner. "It's also inhabited by his daughter, Tsunami, who you've met, and his grandson Inari, who you haven't. He'll likely appear at some point today to explain to you how you're all going to die horribly by Gatō's hand".

The others snickered in response, obviously undeterred. Kakashi remained out of sight for the moment.

"We've been here for a few days. There have been no incidents, even minor ones, and Gatō has, as of yet, sent no new muscle, although, according to Gai-sensei, he may be waiting for his current strong-man to take another shot at us," Sasuke finished, looking a little uneasy. They all did. If the Uchiha, had given an even half way decent report then they all had a right to be concerned.

_Queue, entry of assuring sensei in three... _

_...Two…_

_...One..._

_...And..._

"Not to worry" Kakashi chirped as he came into the genin's lines of sight, surprising all but Neji, who Kakashi thought may have already picked up on his presence. "Until, further notice, I have been _delegated_ the position of mission leader, and will be overseeing your training, while we remain here.

"Training?" Tenten asked. "How long are we going to be here for?"

"Oh, I'd say about two, three weeks or so, depending on how soon the enemy attacks and how long it'll take the workers to finish the bridge." Kakashi responded casually.

_Alright Gai, let's see how your students measure up._

"Now, if you'd all like to follow me"

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* * *

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Gatō's private safe house #013 – Tuesday – 8pm

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"How long?" A voice, hoarse from pain managed.

"Roughly another two weeks Zabuza-sama. I'll be collecting some herbs over the next few days to help shorten it from three" came a response.

"Fine. Get to it then"

The figure tending to him disappeared from the room with unprecedented speed and grace.

_I can't believe, I, Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist got beaten by what must have been __**the**__ campest ninja in existence. I mean for god's sake, I'd heard Konoha's infamous 'Green Beast' was eccentric, but that was…_

'_**YOSH! PREPARE, DEMON-SAN! TO FEEL THE GLORIOUS YOUTH OF THE HIDDEN LEAF! AND IT'S GLORIOUS GREEN BEAST'**_

Zabuza cringed at the occurrence of Another flashback.

_Fuck herbs, I need therapy._

_._

_._

* * *

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Outside Tazuna's House – Friday – 1:26pm

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"Ha! What's wrong Sasuke-teme? Can't climb a tree?" Naruto goaded.

"Please. How many days have you been practicing this for? Don't answer. I'll do it in half", Sasuke retorted.

_Tch, bastard's so fulla himself. Well screw him! I finally got it!_

Naruto had indeed, finally mastered the tree climbing exercise. He still couldn't do it subconsciously, but he'd finished the actual training. The rest just came with constant use according to Kakashi-sensei. Last on his team admittedly, but that was what the 'bastard' was for.

Naruto had panicked when Sasuke was given the same task he was, nearly doubling the blonde's starting height on his first try, but then...

_He's making even less progress than I was when I started_.

Naruto knew what he was doing wrong. Hell, Sasuke would too, if he bothered to ask. Not like it wasn't glaringly obvious, to the point that even Naruto saw it.

Sasuke was trying _way _too hard to move with speed up the tree. His first attempt got so far because the speed with which he moved was so much, that the momentum gave him a (completely unhelpful) distance boost, allowing for the illusion of progress. The distribution of chakra to his feet was coming second to physical speed and multi-tasking with his training was doing Sasuke no favors. Naruto mentally assured himself that he would tell Sasuke what he was doing wrong, _only _if he asked for help.

_And, of course, the bastard won't ask the 'dobe' for help. So I get to watch him fail at this for the rest of the-_

"Ah, Naruto, I see you've mastered the tree climbing exercise" came Kakashi's voice from behind him… while Naruto was also upside down.

"Motherfu-Ahhh!" Naruto yelled as he twisted, tripped and fell off the tree he was attached to, again, while upside down, in reaction to his sensei's… surprise.

He hit the ground.

He quickly bolted up, a hand tending to the already growing lump on his head. "What was that for!" Naruto asked, rather aggressively as Sasuke simply cocked an eyebrow, a smug look on his face betraying intense satisfaction.

"I thought you might like reminding that it's unfair to go around taunting you're fellow leaf ninja" Kakashi spoke as he eye-smiled.

"BUT YOU JUST-"

Kakashi-sensei answered, "yes, but I'm your jōnin sensei, it's my job to torture you until your dangerous enough that I stop, for fear of retaliation." He was obviously loving every moment of this. "Besides, if you've finished this, then I thought I might teach you a new jutsu. Alas, if your too busy _flirting_ with Sasuke here then… well, maybe another time-"

"YES I WANNA LEANT A NEW JUTSU- I MEAN YOU BASTARD!- I MEAN SHUDDUP AND TEACH ME THE DAMN JUTSU!" Naruto exploded in simultaneous joy and outrage, as in retrospect, was likely Kakashi-sensei's intention. Sasuke had fallen from his smug pedestal, as 'flirting' had come up, and seemed outraged as well, in his own broody way.

Kakashi half-flipped from an upside down position on the underside of a tree, landing in front of Naruto. "Alright then. Since you're so eager, come with me." He led Naruto away as Sasuke returned to his tree climbing exercise, more energised than ever.

_Idiot, you're just going faster,_ Naruto amusedly thought to himself as he followed his sensei.

They'd come to a slightly deeper part of the forest when Kakashi-sensei stopped them. "Why aren't the other members of Team Seven learning this too?" Naruto asked. He knew for a fact that Shikamaru was _on watch_ as he called it, while Neji used his Byakugan to fulfil that role far better.

Kakashi-sensei responded, "Neji's busy keeping watch while the rest of you train and, despite this being a D-rank technique, Shikamaru doesn't have the chakra reserves to do this more than two or three times." Naruto was a little deflated at the use of the term 'D-rank', but perked up a little when Kakashi-sensei mentioned that it used lots of chakra

_Finally! Something I don't have ta squeeze my chakra levels down to do! The only other technique I have that does that is Shadow Clones! _

"What's it do?" Naruto questioned.

Kakashi-sensei sighed. "It's called the 'Shunshin no Jutsu', or 'Body Flicker Technique'. You remember how I left you for your training mission back in the Capital?"

Naruto nodded.

"Well, this is that."

_Awesome! I wanted to learn that one anyway!_

"Now, at first glance, this jutsu appears similar to Kawarimi…" Kakashi-sensei began. Naruto knew that one and was glad he had something to work with. "…they are however, nothing alike in anything aside from outside appearance" Kakashi finished.

_Crap_

Kakashi-sensei eye smiled. "Unlike Kawarimi, all you need is the ram seal, as well as the basic chakra distribution abilities you displayed by learning the tree climbing technique…"

_Awesome, less stuff to remember._

"… While the jutsu may make it look like a shinobi has just teleported, It's actually done by using chakra to temporarily bolster the body and move at extreme speeds. The amount of chakra required depends on the overall distance and elevation between the user and the intended destination," Kakashi-sensei explained.

"What's up with the smoke then?" Naruto asked."If it's just moving fast then what's up with that?"

"Most ninja use chakra generated smoke, or some other elemental variant to mask their movement. The initiation of a Shunshin in plain sight will usually give away your intended direction, even allowing an enemy to anticipate your destination. You already use it making your shadow clones. Didn't you notice that sometimes when you make them, they come out of smoke, while some just appear?"

"Hey, yea! You're right!" Naruto chorused in response to the reference to his favorite technique

"Right", Kakashi-sensei agreed. "We'll work on the smoke later as you already seem to have it down, even if not at conscious will. For now, try using the ram seal, to activate the technique, going somewhere in close range that you can see clearly. That's a good starting point"

"Yea!" Naruto yelled, pumped and ready for action. He formed the ram seal, distributed his chakra all round his body, focused on a destination, in this case, 'forward' and-

"Naruto wait! That's too-"

*WHAM*

Naruto found himself hanging off of a tree branch., "Wha-…I-…huh?" He stuttered as tried to gain his bearings. Kakashi-sensei landed nest to him, checking for any injuries and chuckling when he found him to be in good health.

"Naruto"

"Ughhh... Yes , Kakashi-sensei?"

"For the record, _t__hat_ was more chakra than you needed."

"You don't say sensei?"

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[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]

A/N

Motherfucker! This was a bitch to write! Most of it was either explaining stuff to uninformed characters or fucking exposition on jutsu theory. I studied less for some essays than for this! Fact checking against cannon is boring as hell, compared to actually just writing.

On the bright side, with theory, comes actual jutsu. Genin gets a lovely little D-rank jutsu. Yay.

This was _so _much less fun to write than a lot of my previous chapters. The Neji reunion with team Gai was, as expected, awkward as hell, with tension and Neji's desperate avoiding of them when he can. On the bright side, Naruto breaks the ice with sledge hammers by launching himself into a conversation with Lee. I was gonna have them confont the issue almost immedietly and resolve it, but every attempt I made felt like a total deus ex ass pull usually with Naruto at the center. So yea, that's gonna drag on, like many horrible batches of awkwardness in real life, in agonising pain. That is, of course, when the master of small talk himself isn't there to save the day.

Zabuza's being borderline traumatised by Gai - Because getting the crap beaten out of you by a guy (Gai?) with a bowl cut, wearing green spandex and screaming about the 'power of youth' is not healthy, in more ways than one. Especially for the serious ones. Also, its fucking funny.

I'm also working on my other fanfic now. Not the reason this one took longer for me. Just hit a wall is all. I'm pretty much operating on a basis that I cant upload a chapter for my new one until I also have one for this one. As such, my attentions are divided, which is actually a good thing. So. Yay.

Do people like the little quotes at the beginning? I do, but just wandering...

Reviews!:

givemehugs54 - You will notice I've been rather tight lipped on the subject of her and her team. This is on purpose. Hope you wait and see :)

KyokaraMaohfan - I feel like I should hire you to write the previews for my upcoming chapters. Glad you look forward them. Keep reading :)

SuperVegitoFAN - Already talked with you about stuff. Keep reading and I hope you enjoy :)

Hektols - For Sasuke, its a slow start. As you can see, his teammates are one thing, but he has yet to universally apply the principle to dobes.


	18. Chapter 17

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Fate, Chaos and Plans – Chapter 17 – Whiskers

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Forest Edges

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_I am going to kill Naruto Uzumaki. That's all there is too it. I'm going to take his arrogant little know it all face and I'm going to- God! This is getting me nowhere! _

It'd suddenly hit Sasuke, after a day of making little to no progress, bested by a tree no less, that he could've easily just asked Naruto what he was doing wrong, which by the look on his face, he probably knew, and have gotten this farce out of the way long ago. Instead, he'd been overconfident in his abilities, thinking that he could easily catch up to any level of skill that the dobe had achieved, with little to no effort at that. Even after he'd found this not to be the case, he'd just allowed himself to stew in his own anger and frustration. Well no more! he was finally going to ask Nar-

"Sasuke?"

…Or Tenten. He could ask Tenten, which would be considerably less like pulling nails from his fingers.

Sasuke dragged himself to his feet, stumbling a little, before addressing his comrade. "Where have you been?" It was only meant to seem like a question of casual interest, yet his tone made it come out in an almost accusative manner.

Tenten cocked an eyebrow, before answering. "Chakra control exercises, the same as you. Sparring on water mostly". She smirked as she finished, knowing exackly what this would prompt.

"On water?" Came the predictable response of the Uchiha.

Tenten brightened up. "Yep! It's the next level up from what you're doing and about ten times harder." She went into lecture mode. "You take the lessons from tree climbing and apply it to water, which fluctuates regarding the necessary amount of chakra. Then you spar on the water to the point that it's use is almost entirely subconscious."

_That sounds... advanced. Wait... I need to ask her-_

"Tenten", Sasuke began. "I think I'm missing the point of the tree climbing exercise. Can you tell me what I'm doing wrong?"

A smile spread across her face. To Sasuke, she looked almost… relieved. "Sure! We're teammates after all. Give it another go, I'll watch."

Sasuke sighed with relief that the ordeal of requesting assistance hadn't dragged on for too long.

He began his struggle against gravity once more.

_I **will not** lose to a tree._

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Inner Forest

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"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes Naruto?"

The blond struggled to his feet after yet another overshot. As far as he could tell, he could only control his new jutsu when he was traveling over a certain distance so that the chakra draw was large enough for him to regulate it. It had started at 200 meters, but he'd managed to whittle it down to 135. Kakashi-sensei had told him that he was making decent progress from an 'abysmal start' and that he should have it down in another day or so.

Now though, he'd finally managed to ask about something that puzzled him. "Um, well, you know how you were saying that you could only Shunshin into placed that you can see, or like picture _really _well, but's still pretty close?"

Kakashi-sensei mock pondered for a moment, "Hmmm, you know, I think you're right_, I did_ say something along those lines".

_That's getting really annoying, really quick._

"Yea, well, I gotta question about that."

Kakashi-sensei, dropped the act and resumed his (as lazy as it was) teacher mode. "Alright, ask away then."

"How did you Shunshin away from us in the capitol?" Naruto asked. "I mean, you didn't go anywhere near us when you left, otherwise Neji would've seen you. So, like… how?"

Kakashi shot Naruto a look which, if anything indicated that he was, in fact, mildly impressed. "Very good of you to notice Naruto."

The blond flashed a wide smile at the compliment, being easily pleased, before Kakashi-sensei continued.

"I used another technique in collaboration with the Shunshin, the shadow clone. When I indicated that I wished to move, the shadow clone dispelled, and I was easily able to move to the desired location, well out of Neji's un-activated eyes," Kakashi-sensei finished his explanation proudly.

"Huh! What good's the shadow clone jutsu?! I can do that! I don't get it!" Naruto shouted in protest, having lost the plot along the way.

Kakashi-sensei frowned, looking like he thinking on where his explanation had fallen short. "I dispelled my shadow clone. Received memories of the location I wanted to go to, then used said information to Shunshin there. What's not to get Naruto?"

_Wait… WHAT?!_

"WE GET THEIR MEMORIES?! NOBODY TOLD ME THEY COULD DO THAT?!" Naruto shouted in outrage.

Kakashi sensei's jaw dropped before taking up a position of outrage himself. "It was in the scroll you stole! Didn't you read it to learn the jutsu?!"

Naruto was taken aback for a moment before returning fire, "You Kidding?! I thought I had like, two hours to learn a jutsu! I didn't know how long it would take! S..So… so I… SO I SKIMMED IT!"

"You… skimmed it" Kakashi mirrored darkly. He ran his hand through his hair as he spoke. "You learned an A-rank technique, without help, in under two hours, while _skimming _though a forbidden scroll." His eyes focused on Naruto again. "That's actually kind of amazing."

_Well… when he puts it like that, I really do sound kinda awesome!_

Naruto compliment fuelled smile.

Kakashi-sensei was still taken aback, appearing to not really know how to handle the apparent revelation.

He finally spoke. "Let's head back. Dinner should be soon and we'll need to keep our strength up. You can pick this up tomorrow."

"M'kay!" Naruto responded, still giddy from not one compliment, but two!.

He began treading along sided his sensei

'_Amazing'… _

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Outside Tazuna's House - Later

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_Well… that worked well_

It'd taken Tenten only one look to see what Sasuke was doing wrong, explain why it was wrong, then tell him how to fix it. The whole experience had been a humbling one, and had again reminded him that both his comrades already possessed a full year's experience which they hadn't sitting on their thumbs.

_I'll get it tomorrow, no question, _Sasuke reassured himself.

He was currently sitting on a makeshift bench near Tazuna's House. He'd been told that dinner would be ready soon and to wait. The only problem was that Sasuke wasn't very good at waiting. His mind inevitably slipped back into his first real battle, but not his part in it. The water clones, while skilled weren't what we're drawing his thoughts. No, what had gained his attention could change _everything._

_Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram… those were the hand signs he used… 'The Summoning Technique'…_

Sasuke had initially asked Lee about it with casual disinterest, tortoises, not really impressing him much. Then, he'd been blown away by just how much potential there was in it. Not only did summons come in all shapes in sizes, but, contrary to popular (and Sasuke's) belief, one does not even require a summoning contract to use the jutsu. Rather, the animal most suited to you, or any dormant bloodline contracts, would simply be matched automatically. Still sceptic, Sasuke had asked Lee about any additional information. He responded by telling Sasuke that the tortoises allowed Gai-sensei to learn their techniques. This essentially allowed for massive advances in a shinobi's skills, regardless of how useful the actual animals would be in combat. This still seemed relatively tame to the Uchiha. That was, until Lee had told Sasuke that, among these techniques, was one with which protected the body, to an extent, against the downsides of the eight gates technique. In essence, this seemed to mean that the summoning technique had allowed his sensei to become the record holding gate user he was today and, was arguably, the only reason he was even still alive right now. Sasuke imagined what techniques he could learn from a summon of his own.

_Sold. Absolutely sold. Hell, if what Lee said was true, I don't know why all shinobi don't do it._

In retrospect. This was his first clue

Sasuke noticed Naruto and his sensei coming back out the corner of his eye.

_Good, _he thought. _If something goes wrong, then I'll have backup_.

He strode towards the two.

Naruto was the first to acknowledge him. "What's up?"

Sasuke gave a brief nod to the blonde, who he would have to pay heed to, at least until he'd caught up with him, which would be soon.

_So very soon._

He turned to the blonde's teacher. "Kakashi-sensei. I request you're observation while I attempt a jutsu, as I am unsure of the results.

"Very well then" Kakashi replied. The one eyed ninja turned to the blonde, "For the record Naruto, that's the kind of respect with which you should address _your _sensei with."

"He only speaks to ya like that cuz he don't know you" Naruto retorted without missing a beat. He walked over to sit where Sasuke had. For all the two antagonised each other, there was apparently little one could do to sway the blonde from wanting to see a new jutsu.

"Alright," Sasuke announced, walking a fair distance from the two. Like Gai-sensei, He bit his finger and began flashing through the seals, devoting around a quarter of his remaining chakra to the technique; Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram.

"SHIT! WAIT-" Kakashi yelled, But Sasuke's hand was already on the ground, ink symbols running through the turf.

Then there was smoke.

And then…

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Kakashi had initially been amused when Gai's student had asked him to observe him practice a technique.

_Hell, it'll probably motivate Naruto more. Could be good for the eye too I suppose. _

The Uchiha stowed away some good fire techniques in their time, not all of which Kakashi had… acquired.

Then his blood ran cold.

_That's not a fire technique. Actually that looks like-_

"SHIT! WAIT-" was all Kakashi could yell as he dashed towards the boy. He should've known that he'd want to get a summoning animal of his own after seeing the technique. Hell, Kakashi actually raised his summons. But not yet, it was too soon and they were on a mission. He probably didn't even know about the downsides. That technique could get him killed,

_It very likely __**will**__ get him killed. It's already started, I can see the symbols on the ground._

And then…

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* * *

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And then…

"Hey! It's kid-Sasuke!"

The smoke finally dissipated, clearing to reveal…a cat… wearing a blue kimono with mesh armour underneath. It donned a kanji tattoo of 'shinobi' on its forehead and carried a large looking scroll on its back.

It was…

"D..Denka?!" Sasuke stuttered. Of all the summoning creatures he'd thought he'd qualify for, he'd never considered cats, even ninja cats, to be among them.

"Hey kid! Looks like you've gone and activated the contract!" Denka announced.

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Kakashi nearly collapsed in relief.

_Oh thank god he had an inactive contract! That __**really**__ would've been embarrassing. _

He thought about what he would've had to say to the boy's teacher.

_'Hey Gai, you know how I said I'd look after your students? Well, one of them got themselves reverse summoned to god-knows-where. Sorry about that.'_

Kakashi turned his attention to current events.

_This could be interesting though,_ Kakashi thought. _ Nin-neko don't usually take much interest in human shinobi…_

He watched as the ordeal continued.

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"A..activated?" Sasuke stammered. He glanced around, to see Kakashi's posture sinking in relief, though he wasn't sure why. Naruto was looking on, interested and surprisingly quiet.

"Well yea kid! I mean after your last visit, your brother had your name imprinted in our contract don't you rember-"

_Him_

Sasuke's fists clenched. He did remember. "-Strike my name off" The Uchiha interrupted.

"Woa… what? Kid, it's not that simple-"

Sasuke's knuckles went white. "I have been arrogant". He ignored the 'ha!' from Naruto. "I've learned to accept help from people. My sensei, my comrades, perhaps even certain… others. But I will never, **ever, **take **anything** from **Him.**"

_Only his life._

"Take. My. Name. Off."

Sasuke was clenching his fists so tightly he could've sworn that his palms had stared to bleed.

Denka looked immensely sad for a moment before he finally sighed. "Sasuke... Alright kid, fair enough. But it really isn't that simple. There's a problem."

"What is it?"

"You're the last living name on our contract." If your name comes off it without a replacement, then our summoning species loses face. I can't sign you off until I get a solid substitute." Denka pulled a scroll off of his back, unraveling it across the ground. Sasuke looked over the names, a few with the Uchiha name seemed vaguely familiar. His own name was at the end.

He thought of reconsidering, taking the contract anyway.

He almost gagged. The thought of taking something from _Him_, even if it could be beneficial, was repulsive. It was sacrilege against his entire being. He was an avenger; he would not take _gifts_ from his target.

_Besides, _Sasuke reasoned. _It could even be a ploy to give me an incompatible summoning animal to ensure that I stay behind him. No, I'll have to find a replacement. Maybe a bird of some kind. The records said he had crows. I'll get something __**better**__ than crows._

He looked over, "Kakashi-sensei, I don-"

"Sorry", Kakashi interrupted. "Before you ask, I'm quite happy with my-" he glanced at Denka, "-_other _summoning animals thank you"

"I'm well aware of you, mutt lover," Denka hissed at Kakashi.

_Crap, one down. That leaves_… Sasuke turned to look at Naruto.

"What?" Naruto asked, having lost the plot entirely.

Sasuke turned to the nin-neko. "Denka?" he asked. He would get rid of the contract quickly, so as to gain another run at the slots as it were, but he wouldn't pawn off a childhood friend/animal on Naruto of all people without their permission. He could wait a little longer if he had to.

_Only if I have too though._

Denka sauntered over to Naruto, looking him up and down, nodding as he went. "Well he's got whiskers, and whiskers are always awesome."

Naruto flashed a wide grin in response, apparently happy that someone had actually complimented what Sasuke always assumed was a birth peculiarity.

Naruto crouched down, still smiling at the nin-neko. "Whiskers totally _are _cool, aren't they?"

Denka returned the smile, which was entirely creepy for an animal with no lips. In fact, it looked a lot like Naruto's smile.

Denka shot a look at his grin. "Good teeth too, I mean look at them, they're almost as sharp as mine!" Denka nodded as he seemed to have ticked off another box on his mental check-list. "Well, he's got the look down, that's for sure. Hey kid, you got a name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki!" the blonde responded, sticking his thumb to his chest as if he had to clarify.

Denka spoke aloud to nobody in particular. "Uzumaki? Thought that lot were all dead. Huh. Well nin-neko don't usually place too much value in blood anyway, but it helps at least." Naruto looked a little confused. "Alright kid, let's see a jutsu. Make it a good one too."

Naruto, still ignorant of the fact he was being tested for a summoning contract, obliged nonetheless. Sasuke noticed that while Naruto was forming a seal that Denka had formed one of his own, although nothing visible happened.

Naruto made two clones that proceeded to fist-bump each other, then their creator.

_Wait… solid clones?! When did he learn to do that?! He couldn't even make a normal one in back in the academy!_

Denka seemed relatively impressed as well. "Not bad kid, that's an awful lot of chakra you've got". Naruto scratched the back of his head, seemingly unsure of how to take the compliment. "Chakra control looks to have taken a hit though. Still, not _that_ surprising when you've got _that_ _much_ of the stuff. Alright kid, you pass."

"I passed? That's great! Wait- I WAS BEING TESTED?!" Naruto exclaimed. "Since whe-" he then turned back to the cat- "but I did pass… right?"

"Yep, you've probably got some potential… probably" Denka chuckled.

"So what do I get for passing then?" Naruto asked, still miles out of the loop.

Denka chuckled, "Don't pay too much attention do ya kid? Ah, no worries, you'll probably fit right in."

Naruto didn't look any less confused.

"Oh, right!" Denka announced. "Naruto Uzumaki, how would you like to sign a summoning contract with the nin-neko?"

"Summoning contract?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi came up behind him, placing hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto, Sasuke has _generously_ offered you to replace his name on the nin-neko summoning contract. Summon animals have been known to aid those who call on them in battle. They are however, also exclusive. Usually. This means that most can only be signed on with one group at a time. I would think _very carefully_ before you choose to accept-"

"I'll do it!" Naruto announced to Sasuke's and Denka's pleasure and, surprisingly, what looked like Kakashi's panic. "What?" Naruto asked. "It's not like I'm gonna find some _other _contract"

Sasuke noticed Kakashi seemed almost apprehensive at Naruto's words, but couldn't figure out why.

"I'll do it! Besides, he said my whiskers are 'awesome!'.

_That's not a good reas- screw it. Fine, Everyone's happy._

Denka ushered Naruto over to where Sasuke was, next to the laid out summoning contract. "Alright, paws, both of you, or whatever you call them." They both offered their hands, Naruto chuckling while he did so. Denka showed off the claws on one of his paws. "Now, for the love of god, **hold still.** I need to draw some blood." They obeyed, both looking a little grimmer than before. Naruto went first, small gashes being made in the centre of his palm and index finger. "Clench your fist for now, I'll be back to you in a sec kid" Denka instructed. The cat moved to Sasuke, cutting all fingers but the thumb. "Alright kid, last chance to back out. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Sasuke's face dropped in sorrow, but his eyes still held their resolve. "… I'm sorry."

"Me too kid... but for what it's worth... I get it." Denka sighed. "Alright then, draw a line with all the blooded points across your name and paw-print in the contract" Sasuke did so, the cuts stinging as they went. His name, which appeared to be in black on the contract, turned red, swirling with the blood, blurring. Eventually his entire name had disappeared, along with a child's hand-print. He still remembered when he'd placed it in what he thought was just a memento collection back when-

_No, this is the right decision. He never loved me, He just enjoyed watching me, weak and helpless, probably just to bolster his own ego._

The entire segment was pure red now, including the hand-print section. Slowly, it faded to white, with a pale blue light emanating from it.

"Done, you're out," Denka declared, still a little dejected.

"Alright Naruto, time to step up" the cat announced. "Use the blood on your index pink thingy to write your name in the upper section." He did so. "Now, clench your paw again to make sure the blood's spread around the inside of the entire thing, then make a paw print in the lower section". Naruto followed the instructions, signing his name, clenching his fist and finally, placing his palm on the lower section. The blue aura, which Sasuke assumed to be chakra, flowed into the blood, drying it as it turned black. Eventually, the final wisps disappeared.

"Awesome", Naruto commented.

"Done!" Denka announced. "Congratulations Naruto, you're now in with us cool cats." He flashed another grin.

"More awesome" Naruto, spoke as he grinned back.

"Right! I'm heading back for now. Give the summoning jutsu a whirl when you're back in your village."

"Why only the village?" Naruto questioned.

"Well…" Denka trailed off before resuming. "The thing is we were prepared for Sasuke, to an extent. But some of the boss level felines are going to want to meet you before they pledge. So I wouldn't recommend going into combat with the jutsu until you've gotten some stuff straightened out with us."

"Oh, well that makes sense I guess." Naruto responded "I mean_ I'd_ wanna meet anybody _I'd_ be working for before I actually _work _for them".

"Working _with, _but thanks for getting it kid. You know the hand signs for the jutsu? " Naruto shook his head and Denka sighed, "It's Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey and Ram, in that order. Dog lover over there can tell you again if you forget. Later kid"

And with that, Denka disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

Naruto spun round to address his teacher. "Kakashi-sensei! I got a summoning contract!"

"I know Naruto, I was there," Kakashi deadpanned, still looking a little upset for reasons Sasuke couldn't fathom. "Congratulations though." Naruto was practically bouncing in elation.

Suddenly he turned to face the Uchiha. "Oh right, Sasuke?"

"Yes?"

"I imagine you traded in that contract so that you could take another crack at it, yes?" He hit the nail on the head, which was good. Sasuke was looking forward to getting a contract without _That Man's_ fingerprints all over it.

He nodded in affirmation.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from trying to do so for the remainder of the mission. If you do so, it _will_ technically count as abandoning of a mission… which is technically treason" His eye-smile and soft, almost jovial tone were eerily unfitting of his words.

"**What?**" Sasuke questioned darkly. He hadn't gone through all that trouble, just for nothing.

"What did you think would happen when you performed that jutsu without an actual summoning contract Sasuke?" Kakashi questioned.

Sasuke frowned but answered, "An animal appropriate to me would be summoned and I would be examined in a similar manner to Naruto."

"Close, but you've got it the wrong way round." Kakashi corrected him. "I'm afraid, that when you _have no_ summoning contract, it's _you_ that gets summoned to the animal appropriate."

_WHAT?!... BUT I NEARLY... WHAT?!_

"If you were lucky, then you would only be moved a continent or two. If not…" Kakashi trailed off before continuing. "It's actually very dangerous. Only a high ranking summon animals have the power to send you back to where you summoned yourself from. This usually means that you either prove yourself worthy of the animal's summoning contract, or literally _die_ trying. Not many people are _stupid_ enough to do it on a whim."

_Lee did not tell me about __**that**__. He probably didn't know, but still, that's… I could've died…_

"As such, you would be abandoning the mission by doing so," Kakashi concluded. "Though, by all means, you're free to get yourself killed by a summoning animal when we get back to the village, for now you are my responsibility and on a mission to boot. Now, have we come to an… _understanding?_"

"…Yes Kakashi-sensei"

"Good, now it's almost-"

"-Dinner's ready!" Tsunami called from the house's door.

"Ah, perfect timing!" Kakashi announced.

"Well then, shall we go inside?"

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[NOTE: FOR THOSE RE-READING AND THINKING THAT THE STORY SEEMS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION WITH (HOPEFULLY) BETTER GRAMMAR]

A/N

Remember that episode when Naruto kept messing up the summoning technique and getting baby frogs? (tadpoles i think). Now imagine that with cats. Yea...

Yes, i like cats, yes I liked the nin-neko in the manga, and, to a lesser extent, in the filler. I will be expanding upon their established lore. Honestly, cats are like ninjas anyway.

In case you were wandering, yes Kakashi was freaking out over Naruto signing up because he knew that he would probably be offered the toad summons at some point, but couldn't reveal it.

This scenario's been milling about in my head for a while. Let me address a few likely concerns:

1) Yes Sasuke has and is making huge progress, probably faster than cannon should allow for. But there was **no way** that he was **ever **going to take a summoning contract from his brother. Right now, the idea that his brother loved him or did anything for him is simply beyond him. Hence, the insane toll logic to justify his decision. It's sad, but understandable. Then came Naruto and whisker bonding.

2) This is still not super Naruto fic (although cannon's doing a great job of getting him close at them moment). This effectively invalidates his opportunity to get the toad summons, which also means sage mode. trivial as the event may appear, this will probably have long lasting consequences. As such, just remember that he's getting one set of animals in favor of another. That doesn't necessarily make him better or worse for it.

I'm thinking that when Sasuke got his 'other' summon in cannon, that he went through a smililar ordeal while with Orochimaru first. Not cannon of course, but that's how I'm explaining it. It could've happened, which is basically the entire premise of this fic.

This chapter devoted a lot of time to Sasuke. i justify this with the fact that he's an important character, even out of team seven. Ignoring him, then suddenly having him defy or follow cannon events would be bad narration as far a I think. We still got to see a lot of Naruto though, and he's always fun to write, even from Sasuke's perspective.

Stopping the recaps at the top. A reviewer pointed out in my other fanfic that it's really just a way to make the fic look longer than it is. Not my intention but it get it, so it stops.

For those of you reading my other fanfic, the next chapter is coming. It's just frustrating. I look over what I've written and I feel like its missing something. So I'm taking a little time away from it so I can give it fresh eyes. Hopefully that will solve that problem.

The Gai summoning thing - I thought it was a neat bit of expo. Toads have sage mode and Kakashi (ninja hounds) is noted to have a better nose that Kiba, so I'm going go with the assumption that most, if not all, summoning animals have certain jutsu, or traits, that are exclusive to them, or at least are very rare, which can be given to those who summon them. Tell me what you think.


	19. Chapter 18

Fate Chaos and Plans – Chapter 18

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**Buffy**: "I'm just worried this whole session's gonna turn into some training montage from an eighties movie."

**Giles**: "Well, if we hear any inspirational power chords, we'll just lie down until they go away."

— _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_, "Once More With Feeling"

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Land of Waves  


Unbeknown to either two, a certain shinobi duo yelled the exact same thing, at the exact same time.

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"Yes! Done!" The Uchiha roared, in an entirely uncharacteristic celebration of his success.

The morning after the summoning contract debacle, Tenten had selflessly agreed to supervise Sasuke's training. He'd been at it for the last three and a half hours or so. Relentlessly attacking the tree with his chakra infused feet, only letting up when Tenten stopped him to give out pointers. He wished he owned a clock or a watch. Hell, he'd settle for a sun-dial. As long as he could mark_ this _moment out. This was the moment he'd made it. He wasn't sure where he'd made it to, or where he was going, but it was a milestone. He could feel it.

A crow cut through the air above, catching Sasuke's attention for the briefest of moments as it soared.

_I'm coming for you. Just watch me._

"Oh so you can act happy," Tenten remarked, a smug grin spreading across her. "I thought you only did broody and angry," she continued, snickering as she went.

Sasuke snorted in mock bemusement before adopting an expression of genuine sincerity. "Thank you," he began, the words not finding him easily. "This whole exercise has been… educational. In more ways than I think was intended."

Tenten dropped her amused expression, replacing it with one more joyful. "No worries" the girl replied. "I'm just glad you finally asked. I was beginning worry that your stubbornness might get in the way of your progress". She looked off to the side, suddenly appearing a little sad. "Solitude isn't healthy in large doses…"

"What?"

"Nothing!" She chirped in a blatant and rather ineffective attempt at deflection.

_Weird, none of my business though. If she doesn't want to talk then that's her choice.  
_

"Right. Well now that I'm done-"

He'd began but was cut off."-You should head back to the house", Kakashi finished. Sasuke tried to mask his surprise, then frustration at having been snuck up on so easily, even if by a jōnin. Said jōnin eye-smiled, not knowing, or more likely not caring about the disturbance he'd caused. "I'm re-allocating duties. Back at the house ASAP."

Tenten and Sasuke nodded in affirmation.

"Toodles." With that he burst into a cloud of smoke.

_A Clone? An imitation of a man got the drop on me?!_

Tenten, seemingly sensing Sasuke's inner inferiority complex (_if only_ she knew how deep _that _went), broke him from his musings. "Relax, I didn't see him coming either. I think Gai-sensei let slip that Kakashi-sensei used to be in ANBU, so we should expect... that kind of thing from time to time." Sasuke silently took this into consideration.

_I'm still a genin. It would be unrealistic for be to think I could sense an ex-ANBU at this point... Well... not yet anyway._

"Come on. Let's go" Tenten said, breaking from his thoughts yet again. An occurrence becoming frequent enough that Sasuke was beginning to wander if she did it on purpose.

"Alright then."

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"Yes! Done!"

In less time than he thought he needed either! Naruto Uzumaki was on top of the damn world!

After Kakashi-sensei gave them their duties, he'd set Naruto to work on completing the shunshin. However, Naruto, with his new clone know-how, had offered to donate shadow clones to fill in for some of Neji's duties so that the Hyūga could monitor his his chakra for the technique. Neji's idea obviously, but Naruto would happily tell anybody who asked exactly who it was that helped him perfect the body flicker technique. Though Neji might not thank him for _that _honour if any of the ideas the blonde had regarding the technique's use ever took shape.

Around three and a half hours later and… results! Neji had put right almost everything he was doing wrong with controlling the chakra within the jutsu. As it turned out, a year's experience and super chakra seeing eyes helped with this kind of thing. Who knew?

Now able to control the jutsu down to a half meter, it was time to see how far he could go!

"Neji! Check this out!" Naruto channeled a decent amount of chakra into the technique as one of his clones in the distance dispelled, interpreting his distant shouting as indication to do so. He was, of course, shamelessly ripping of Kakashi-sensei's idea.

_The guy was called the 'copy-nin' for crying out loud! Him complaining about plagiarism's like Shika calling someone lazy._

The information flowed into him seamlessly and he silently berated himself again for not realising it sooner. How could he miss something so obvious! What else had he not picked up on that he should have?

"Nar-" was all he heard as his vision blurred and-

"OHMYGODITWORKEDI'MSOAWESOME!" Came out in a jumbled mess from him as he realised he was standing a meter in front of where his clone had been.

_That was a freaking kilometre! I actually feel like I've lost some serious chakra from that one! This freaking technique is the boss! Well… maybe vice-boss. Shadow clones still win out, but still-_

Naruto swayed, suddenly falling back into the flowers at his feet. His body went numb.

_Oh crap._

He had of course, forgotten that the shunshin did not actually teleport a person. It looked like it did, and usually felt like it did, but it didn't. It was in fact, a very clever next-best-thing. It was a jutsu which auto-piloted a chakra enhanced body at extreme speeds over (what was supposed to be) short distances, which, with some (pending training) chakra incurred smoke, gave the appearance of teleportation. As such, despite being a D-rank jutsu, it took a hell of a lot more than one would expect for it's rank. And now, it appeared Naruto had just broken it. Or his body, he wasn't sure yet.

To his almost euphoric relief, Naruto's body began working again almost immediately after he'd hit the ground. Although the wave of pins and needles that swept across his body told him, that perhaps, he should try working up to that kind of level instead of just skipping straight to massive distances with the jutsu.

_Awww man that could've messed me up if I went for the original plan of 3 KM._

"Excuse me, but are you alright?" came a calm, soft voice from behind him.

Naruto pivoted on the spot, alarmed that someone had snuck up on him. Or had he shunshin'd up on them? He couldn't tell. To his surprise, and immense relief, it was a civilian, not the evil, goatee wearing ninja overlord he'd been fearing.

_That would've been bad. _

Naruto got up, fully in control of his body now, to address the girl, who was, only in part due to Naruto's lacking vocabulary, for lack of a better phrase, '_insanely _pretty'.

"..."

_Say something idiot!_

"Um… Hi?"

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"Hmph. Watch him he says."

Neji activated his Byakugan and began following the trail of chakra the shunshin left behind.

"Fool."

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"Thank you again for assisting me."

"Ahhh it's not a problem." Naruto chuckled as he worked though the medicinal plants. "But hey, you sure are working in a weird place lady."

She didn't look up, instead answering while sifting through the plans beneath her. "You too, what are you doing out here?"

Naruto perked up, happy to discuss his success of the day. "Training!"

"Ah", her eyes widened as she looked up at him. "With that headband… a shinobi I presume?" She queried

"Yup!" Naruto grinned widely as he answered.

"My, that is remarkable, and it must be so exciting too…" She responded, appearing impressed. "-But, why are you training?"

"Um, because I want to become stronger", Naruto announced, a little confused at such an obvious question.

"Oh my, but you already look plenty strong." She commented, looking him up and down as she went.

"Na, I'm gonna get _way _stronger!" Naruto announced, his eyes beaming with determination.

"But why do you wish to become stronger?"

"Huh? Oh well that's bec-,-" He began, but his eyes darted off to the side as he appeared in deep thought, recent memories… complicating things. The position he'd sought had become the means to his ends instead of the other way around and thinking about it just made the question… difficult. "Well I want to- augh! This used to be easy! Damn it Shika! Its… complicated, I think…" The blond struggled as he spoke.

"Well," The lady began. "Do you wish to become stronger for yourself, or for someone else?"

Naruto pondered for a moment. Somehow the question had a… weight to it.

"…Yes."

She frowned, appearing a little taken aback by the response. "Yes?"

The blonde clarified. "Well yea! I get more powerful for me and to help the people close to me. I mean like, when the people I care about are happy, I'm happy, so it's... Kinda both I guess. I dunno, does that make sense?"

"Yes," the girl responded. There was no emotion in her voice, yet an absolute certainty laced her words. "I think that I believe in something similar to you.-" She cleared her throat, implying a certain level of significance that was somehow not lost on Naruto.

"When a person has someone important to protect… That is when they become truly strong."

_Huh? C'mon that sounds cheezy. I mean why woul-_

It hit him.

_Iruka-sensei…_

"_**We'll hold him off until help arrives"**_

_Neji…_

"_**You are not the only one"**_

_Kakashi sensei…_

"…_**but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."**_

… _Me._

_"__**If you touch them…**__ I'LL KILL YOU__"_

_That was… me_

"…_**Because we're friends now. You protected me and Iruka when you coulda just stayed away, and I helped you when you were down." **_

… _right?_

The words and the meaning behind them clicked in his mind. Naruto felt like a puzzle piece of sorts had just been found. One he didn't even know was missing, yet now he had it, he couldn't imagine the picture without it. It just made… sense to him.

He looked back up at the pretty girl. "Yea, I get that." He smiled, no teeth this time, expressing joy at the assisted epiphany. "Can it use that?"

She smiled, nodding as she rose. The girl began walking away, speaking as she went. "You will become strong. Let us meet again somewhere." Naruto smiled in her direction before she called back one last time.

"Oh, and by the way… I'm a boy"

Naruto fell back over again.

_NO. FREAKING. WAY. _

_"..."_

"Naruto." A familiar voice called him. Neji had appeared in the direction the gi- the boy! The freaking boy! The direction the really… REALLY girly looking boy had left.

"Hey Neji…" Naruto trailed off still shaken by…

_Damn, he could give my Oiroke no Jutsu a run for its money. And Sakura? That wouldn't even have been a- NO! He's a freaking HE! Bad brain! Stop thinking about that!_

"Come." Neji announced. "Kakashi-sensei contacted me a few moments ago with one of his shadow clones. He wants us back at the house."

"Oh, m'kay."

Naruto began trailing alongside Neji.

_When a person has someone important to protect… That's when they become truly strong._

"Hey, Neji?"

"What is it?"

"Listen to this…"

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"Zabuza-sama, I've returned with your final batch of medical herbs."

_Finally, it's about time we began, _Zabuza mused, wandering why it had taken significantly longer than the other times.

"Good work Haku. We'll need to move on the bridge builder and his body guards soon." Zabuza reached out to the fruit bowl by his bedside, grabbing an apple, toying with it as he pondered his next plan of action."

"About that Zabuza-sama, I believe that reinforcements may have been called by the Konoha shinobi."

"Why?"

_ This could be trouble._

"I engaged a previously unseen Konoha genin in conversation and proceeded to pass by another as I made my way back. I made sure that I wasn't followed of course." He spoke as he recognised his master's expression. "Judging from the apparent excess of Konoha genin, it is likely that another jōnin has accompanied them."

Zabuza kept toying with the apple as he considered his tool's observations. "If backup's been called, then it's likely that the shinobi I fought is out of commission. Gate users have that draw-back." He tossed the apple up in the air.

_Shit, that freak should've died after the first ten minuets of continuous gate use! To go for thirty and live... He'd **better** be out of action. _

"No information on the jōnin?" He asked as he caught the fruit.

"The only reason I know of them at all is because I ran into one while collecting herbs. A jōnin would likely pick up on my identity as a shinobi Zabuza-sama. As such, I did not seek to infiltrate further." Haku responded, arguing the reasons behind his actions.

_The jōnin could be trouble and I've got six genin to deal with now. Haku's good, but with that many; one could get lucky, especially while I'm fighting against an unknown jōnin who, in all likelihood, has already been briefed on me._

"You mentioned yesterday that you had news on the Demon Brothers?"

"Yes Zabuza-sama, they've recently escaped their incarceration from local authorities and have attempted to make contact with us. However, you said that you had no need for a duo dragged down by 'mindless blood-lust'." Haku frowned, his eyes darting off to the side as a memory worked its way through him. "I too feel that their thirst for killing is… unnecessary. It undermines the capabilities of what would otherwise be a pair of decent, if mediocre, chūnin shinobi. Especially considering that one has no inherent desire for it, only catering to the other's."

"Good analysis" Zabuza responded. It really was. Zabuza had always been disappointed that of all the members of his failed coup, _those two_ had been among the few surviving members. He made a mental note to get better subordinates. Like Haku. Now _there_ was a comrade-

'_Tool'... I meant tool...  
_

He shook off the thought, not liking where it looked to be going. "We'll need a diversion. Get in contact and tell them we'll be attacking from the bridge itself tomorrow at 11am sharp. At the same time, they're to attack from the opposite direction."

Zabuza would actually be attacking around thirty seconds after that. Any other profession would ridicule such a tiny amount of time being taken into account, but to a shinobi it could be their life. They would garner the Konoha shinobi's attention for a limited time before the jōnin was called away be dealt with by him. The Demon Brothers may have peaked out at mid chūnin, but they'd survived this long for a reason. Their team-work was damn good when they took their heads out of their asses, meaning that it also didn't hurt that their egos' had taken a few hits. They would be more cautious this time and would hopefully last longer, if not win their battle outright once they were only up against genin.

"Are you sure Zabuza-sama? Gōzu may prove useful, but Meizu has proven… difficult to handle at the best of times." Haku queried, concern, laced with only the barest hint of contempt apparent in his voice.

_That's putting it nicely. I can barely even look at Meizu after what he tried to do in __Yu no Kuni... _

The memory flashed through the Demon of the Hidden Mist. He internally cringed while his outward expression remained unchanged.

___I should've killed him for it.  
_

Zabuza, Haku and Gōzu had stopped him of course, even letting the poor woman leave with her life. He didn't need that kind of rep while trying to organise a revolution, either attached to him or those working for him. Hell, Gōzu had nearly killed his own brother over it and Haku's trademark aversion to death seemed oddly absent at that moment. To this day, it had been the only time he'd seen the brothers fight. Gōzu wasn't really what Zabuza would call a 'good man', but, like himself, there were certain... lines he wouldn't cross. Both seemed to understand that people needed those lines, those rules, especially shinobi. It was, in his own humble opinion, what allowed them to retain even an ounce of sanity when things fell apart, which in his chosen profession, happened a lot. Somewhere along the way though, Meizu lost sight of his own lines.

_People like that didn't make good comrades.  
_

"I am. If you're lucky though, you won't be dealing with them much longer. You're to lead any genin with the jōnin away from our battle towards the other other one. I don't care what you have to do as long as you get the job done." The apple flew up again.

_Alright Konoha, let's see how round two treats you._

Zabuza caught the apple, effortlessly crushing it in his hand.

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Dinner was tense.

Again.

Tazuna, Tsunami and her son Inari, in addition to all the shinobi at the dinner table made it rather crowded. Not that Naruto had a problem with that. He was rather happy to just keep chatting along; breaking any silences that dragged on for longer than he was comfortable with. In all honestly, he wouldn't deny that he loved being around people, even if it was cramped and the bastard was one of said people. It helped him forget the empty apartment back home.

He'd been content, going back and forth with Kakashi-sensei about his misadventures with body flickering when-

"WHY DO YOU GUYS BOTHER TO TRY SO HARD?! NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRAIN, YOU'RE STILL NO MATCH FOR GATŌ'S MEN! NO MATTER WHAT _GLORIOUS_ CLAIMS YOU MAKE OR HOW HARD YOU WORK, THE WEAK WILL ONLY END UP GETTING KILLED!"

_Inari._

Naruto had been putting up with that passive aggressive attitude for days. Seriously, he should be given a medal. Up to this point, he'd just waved the kid off, not really bothering to deal with it. Hell, the kid was actually something that he and Sasuke had kinda laughed over. But right now?

"Whatever kid, I'm not like you," was all that Naruto could be bothered to say. All he allowed himself to say without going off on the kid. There was too much about him that rubbed Naruto the wrong way.

_Come on kid, drop it. I'm busy trying to smooth over other crap. I don't need yours right now._

"_I'D HATE TO BE LIKE YOU!" _Inari yelled in response. Everyone else at the table seemed to have been too taken aback by the child's outburst, including his mother, to actually do anything to stop him.

_Come on... Ninja now, remember? No flying off the handles…  
_

The boy continued unabated. "YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THIS COUNTRY, YET YOU KEEP STICKING YOUR NOSE IN!"

_That doesn't even make sense! Konoha was hired, by __**your**__ family… idiot._

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ME?!" The boy broke out, in in total hysterics by this point. "I'M DIFFERENT FROM YOU! YOU'RE ALWAYS CLOWNING AROUND! ACTING SO FREAKING CHEERFUL! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HARD LIFE CAN BE!

*Snap*

_Fuck it._

"**So…**" Naruto finally responded. To his surprise this was all it had taken for Inari to flat out recoil. Then again, the rest of the room had begun staring at him too. Right now however, Naruto didn't care.

"**I guess that makes it ok for you then, right?"** Naruto practically spat the words; he wasn't even looking at Inari.** "You can just go star as the main character in your own little tragedy and cry all day long. Is that it?"** He turned to face him, baring his gritted and _very _sharp teeth as he spoke.

"**JUST KEEP ON CRYING FOREVER YOU LITTLE WIMP"**

Silence fell across the room as everyone either looked down or at one of the two boys. Nobody seemed comfortable with what had just happened, Naruto least of all...

_Crap. I **may** have lost it there._

"I could use some air", Naruto muttered absently as he rose from his seat, making for the front door. He thought he heard the back door swinging open and slamming shut, probably due to Inari trying to upstage his exit.

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Tsunami shot a look at Kakashi. There was anger in her expression but also pain. She obviously didn't want to admit it, but she shared his student's concerns for her son. Not in the same words of course, but she couldn't bear to see her son so constantly miserable. Jaded, heartbroken and hopeless were the obvious tags that Kakashi would associate with her son and they both knew Naruto wasn't wrong. That did not mean, however, that the silver haired jōnin didn't have to fix this mess.

Kakashi let out a sigh as he rose, walking towards the same door as Inari. Opening it up, he saw the child siting on the edge of the walkway above the water the house was stationed on, staring down at it, his shoulders shuddering as he wept.

"May I join you?" Kakashi asked politely. Inari spared him only the slightest of glances before turning back to the water, not particularly caring either way. The Copy-Nin decided that this was as close to consent as he was likely to get, seating himself next to the boy.

_Might as well get on with this then._

"I'm sure Naruto didn't mean any harm by what he said" The shinobi began. There was no reaction from the youngster. ""You see, sometimes he just doesn't use his head."

The boy didn't so much as appear to have heard him. 'In his own little tragedy', as Naruto had put it.

_Still nothing. _

On a dime, Kakashi decided against completing the rest of his, 'he didn't mean it speech' and actually say something that would hit home. "Tazuna-san told us about your father". This time there was the tiniest flaring of his eyes before Inari tried ignoring him again.

"…Like you, Naruto grew up without a dad". A flicker of shock flashed across Inari's face as Kakashi knew he'd caught the boy's attention properly this time. "Actually… He never had parents at all, no friends either, up until recently that is."

Kakashi paused, deciding to get to the point while he still had the child's attention. "The truth is, he's had a rougher time of growing up than you. A much rougher childhood than anyone should have."

"Huh?" Inari finally spoke up. "But… I never saw him cry or complain, even once."

"No, he doesn't really," Kakashi agreed. "In my experience with him, he's constantly trying to move forward. He tries not to focus on the bad things."

Guilt laced memories struck at the shinobi. _Oh god_, the guilt was almost suffocating.

"He's… probably sick and tired of crying" Kakashi concluded.

Inari looked down, obviously lost in memories, probably about his own father. Kakashi went on, desperately trying to prevent full submersion into the recollections of his many, _many_ failings. "He may be able to understand your feelings better than anyone else. That's… probably why he can't help but be concerned by you." The boy started up at Kakashi in awe. "You probably remind him too much of himself."

With that, Kakashi rose, standing above Inari. He flashed an eye-smile at the boy before casually walking away. Not daring to allow himself to go any deeper into his memories. There was just... too much.

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Naruto took in a deep breath. Despite it being just an excuse, the air really was doing some good as his breathing became more steady. He could feel himself calming down. A little guilt replaced the anger, but not enough. He felt bad for making an awkward situation in the house and knew that the clients could probably make him sleep outside because of this.

But for Inari? Not a chance. The kid needed to stop that little angst fest he had going on. If Naruto could be cheerful than someone who still had family had no right to get that pissy with _him._

_Family… _

_-Great, now I'm doing it! Screw that! I've got friends now. People I can trust! _

Naruto felt a familiar, almost tingly warmth wash over him as the words bounced around in his mind. He wasn't like the kid.

_Not anymore. Not for a long time._

If things sucked, he would make them better, for him and everyone he cared about. Everything else was just a matter of how.

"Naruto"

The blond turned at the call of his name, spotting Neji in the doorway. The, up until recently orange clad boy, adopted a dejected expression. "I'm sleeping outside aren't I?"

Neji frowned. "What? No. Kakashi-sensei cleared up any problems regarding your scolding of the child." The frown rose as he smirked. "While we're on the matter though, that speech…"

"I meant it" Naruto answered.

"Actually I was going to say it was rather well put. Kakashi-sensei said you may have provided the boy with an epiphany of sorts," Neji elaborated.

Naruto considered what this meant for a moment before finally responding. "Sooooo, I don't have to sleep outside?"

"Not unless you want to," The Hyūga returned.

Naruto snorted, proceeding to follow the prodigy back inside to get some rest.

After all, they'd need it.

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A/N

Its been a while.

First and foremost - Sage Mode - Oh. My. Fucking. God. The amount of people who talked about this in their revives overwhelmed me completely. As such, I shall clarify. I meant Toad Sage Mode, Not any sage mode. Sage mode has shown up as a higher technique among other summon animals not just them. I am not trying to de-power or super-power Naruto with this. Some also say that he could get toads as well because as Sasuke showed, you can have more than one. I have very mixed feelings about going down that road. Super aside, cannon basically had the BIG BAD of all characters, openly acknowledge that the second summon animal was a total ass-pull. Recent chapters have also regressed back to snakes. As such, while cannon technically allows it, I'm hesitant. Technically can happen, but the consent of both summoning groups to allow for one summoner is unlikely. Should be funny once a certain toad summoner finds out though.

No cats in this chapter. As eluded to by the previous one, the initiation of a totally different summoning contract isn't just going to be a background detail. Its a whole thing I've got planned out.

The quote,as stated, is Buffy. Loved that show (pretty much everything made by Joss Whedon actually). I though I'd address the slow pace and constant training over a period of (largely off-screen) time. Don't worry. Next Chapter should give you your fill of action.

Reviews:

Guest - I can see it, but he's not got the Chakra for any kind of summoning yet.

loretta537 - Thanks

loretta537 - Points of concern hopefully addressed. And yes, any cat-sage mode would be much different to a toad sage mode.

Guest - Agani, talked about. For cat variant, see above.

GunnerRyuu - Glad i have your curiosity. Soon I'll have your attention.

lightning king - Fair point. Addressed. moving on...

Unyouthful Steve (how do people think of these awesome names?) - Yes you're right. Dealt with it.

Deanov87 - Thank you for the compliment. (dealt with points of concern)

imsabbel (Yay! one of my early reviewers) - Good input, hope you keep reading.

slatedfox - Good that your interested. Hope that you keep reading.

SoulNinjas - Already said it. Probably not, but its not set in stone. I just need a really good narrative reason for it.

LuxEterna1 - I'll try to set your mind at ease in the future =.

Hektols (another early reviewer, which is awesome) - Glad you like the tortoises (I keep wanting to write turtles. It's so freaking tempting to write about ninja turtles its almost unreal)

Pri-Chan 1410 - Glad you liked it. Hope you keep reading


	20. Chapter 19

Fate Chaos and Plans – Chapter 19

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**Isabela:** I have a bad feeling about this.

**Varric:** "I have a bad feeling about this"? That's up there with "What could possibly go wrong?!"

— _Dragon Age II - Rare survivors.  
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Tazuna's House – 10:55am

_._

_This wasn't part of the plan._

Goddammit! It'd been so simple!

Zabuza had re-established contact and given them another shot (a miracle in its own right). All they had to do was flank some house from the opposite direction of the bridge that the fool who decided to oppose the corrupt, insanely wealthy, business tycoon was trying to build. They would then proceed to draw the lower ranking shinobi away while the 'Demon of the Bloody Mist' took out the higher level threats before moving on to help the duo clean up.

What Gōzu was watching right now however, flew in the face of said plan.

'_Those men are not shinobi' _Gōzu thought as he watched the two figures approach the building.

_Probably belong to Gatō._

Gōzu glanced over at his brother, who looked like he was about to gut the amateurs then and there on principle. "The fuck's going on bro?" Meizu hissed, ready to 'un-alive' the would-be poachers.

"Not sure" Gōzu answered. "Zabuza told us that Gatō's been informed about the plan. If we weren't told about this then I doubt he knows either". This didn't sit right with him. In fact, this seemed an awful lot like somebody was making a well, betrayals...

Betrayals and the like usually end with shit-storms when shinobi are involved. But...

...Betrayals with Zabuza?

Gōzu suppressed a shiver as he pulled his thoughts away from **that** image to continue watching the two figures outside the target's house. They unfortunately, were doing nothing to alleviate the chūnin's doubts as one of them used kenjutsu to blow through a wall, seemingly 'just because', as the doors were unlocked and the windows were open.

"Somebody wanted to make an entrance" he noted, rather bemused at their apparent need for bravado.

_Kenjutsu though. Looks like we might be dealing with a couple of amateur samurai. Self taught maybe? We could probably take them, but going in quietly with the element of surprise would be best-_

"Time to make one of our own if we want answers then!" Meizu declared, darting out of his hiding spot.

_Fuck, how about not blowing our cover? You know, considering that's how we got out assed handed to us last time! _

Gōzu's darted off in pursuit of his brother as he tried (and would probably fail) to prevent him from doing something potentially stupid and reckless.

Again.

_It must be Tuesday_

By the time Gōzu had finally caught up with Meizu he'd already been halfway through a full on tirade. Gōzu noted that one of the potential hostages had been in the room as well. He almost felt sorry for the poor woman in front of him. She'd effectively just been rescued so that someone else could take her hostage, her changing expressions indicated that she understood as much. This was really just not her day.

"Look at this brother! Gatō's men think they can poach the work right out of our hands?!"

'_He might've rushed into it, but at least he still took them off guard' _the calmer (and in all honesty, less psychotic) of the two brother's acknowledged as he assessed the situation. The two samurai had already thrown down their weapons as Meizu held a kunai to each of their throats.

_Well, we were initially planning on taking the hostage route, but hey, everything seems salvageable at le-_

" 'Demon Brothers'… am I right?" The thinner of the two samurai asked.

_Oh that cannot be good._

"The fuck is this shit?" Meizu licked his lips for a moment, obviously eager to cause bodily harm to… well… _something_. Such was his brother's way.

The thug swallowed. "We were hoping you might show up".

'_Not lying_' Gōzu noted.

He wished to god that they were. If they were then they could just kill them and get on with the original plan. But they weren't.

_I don't like this._

The thug continued. "Our boss would like to make you an offer, and a really fucking lucrative offer at that." A smile crept across his face as he spoke, obviously under the assumption that taking about money would immediately buy him some time. He was right, but Gōzu still wished he wasn't such a smug prick about it.

_Asshole's trying to negotiate..._

Meizu paused for a moment, allowing his captives to sweat for a few seconds, one of them, who hadn't even spoken a word yet, instead chose to eye the sword he'd dropped to the ground longingly.

Both kunai blurred as Meizu returned them to their holsters before he threw an arm around the one with bluish-white hair back. "Well why didn't you say so!?" He asked in a tone familiar to money lovers everywhere. But, before the thug could even let out so much as a sigh of relief, Meizu continued, "So? What would big ol' Gatō want with a couple 'a lovely killers such as ourselves?"

"Well, he was hoping he might be able to gives you _lots_ of money".

_You covered that. Quit stalling and get to the point. The longer he waits, the more nervous I'm getting. Besides, we need to create a distraction. We could already be late. _

Gōzu spied the woman, 'Tsunami' was it? She'd shuffled over to her son, who had been hiding (badly), obviously trying to convince him to run away. He flicked a kunai, which landed in between the two.

"If one of you moves then I'll kill the _other_ one, understand?"

Mute, terrified nods came in response to him. Gōzu allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction, invisible behind his mask.

_I've still got it._

"Now, get on with it" he snapped as he turned back to the samurai, who had both retrieved their weapons. The quiet one looked like he might try to make a move for a moment, but then deferred authority back to one who'd done the talking

The samurai shrugged before elaborating. "My employer was just hoping you might be able to make a change to that little plan of yours". His face lit up with a sick grin, "you see, Gatō didn't really like the ending."

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As of yet, Unnamed Bridge under construction.  


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"Well look at this" came a voice from inside the mist. "If it isn't the infamous 'Copy-nin' of Konoha, Kakashi Hatake. Looks like I'm being taken seriously"

_Ah, the joys of being in the bingo book_.

At least their opponent had seen fit to engage in banter before trying to kill them, meaning that they were confident enough to take them on in a straight up fight without the element of surprise. An act of either supreme stupidity or confidence.

'_Unfortunately_', Kakashi noted, '_it's probably the latter._'

"Oh, and it looks like you're babysitting too" Zabuza, chuckled, thoroughly amused at his own joke. "I know we're all strapped for cash these days, but as a professional courtesy, I'd appreciate it if you'd not moonlight with a D-rank mission while we're trying to kill each other".

Naruto's grip on his Kunai tightened. He Neji, Shikamaru and Sasuke were there too while Lee and Tenten elected to remain guarding with their sensei.

Noticing the fourth member of Kakashi's squad, Zabuza began speaking again. "Oh, it looks like you're with one of that green spaz's brats too. Aww, look he's shaking again… poor kid…" he offered in mock sympathy.

It was true, Sasuke was shaking.

Just not for the reasons Zabuza was thinking of.

Then they were surrounded by clones, all of which were poised to attack with a sword that had no right being that big.

Kakashi though, was unfazed. Hmph! As if _he_ would let some clones (probably water considering his origin) take _him_ off guard. Smiling as he spoke, he turned to the Uchiha. "Sasuke, would you mind?" He asked politely. He might as well let the boy regain some face.

All the apparent terror on Sasuke's face abruptly vanished as weapons appeared around them. "You don't get it…" he muttered, though still loud enough for others, including Kakashi, to hear him. He pivoted on the spot as plethora of weaponry all attached to ninja wire eviscerated the clones as he spoke up. "I'm shaking from excitement!"

Kakashi's original students reacted as expected. Neji and Shikamaru had simply nodded, mildly impressed by the display, while Naruto played it off like it was no big deal. "meh, I've seen better."

Before Sasuke could respond, a tic mark on his forehead indicating how _that _would go, Kakashi cut him off, moving to address two figures emerging from the mist. "I'm afraid one these 'kids' broke you're clones, so sorry about that. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Zabuza Momochi, 'Demon of the Hidden Mist'.

Zabuza cocked an eyebrow as he responded, "Hmm… Kid saw through the water clones."

"Even if those clones were merely a tenth of the strength of your original clone… it is still impressive that he defeated all of them in such a manner Zabuza-sama", his apprentice responded, their voice cold, completely devoid of any apparent emotion.

"Looks like a rival's appeared, eh Haku?"

"It does indeed"

'_I might as well confirm it now' _Kakashi thought as he turned to his provisional student."Sasuke, I don't suppose that this would be your hunter-nin?"

Kakashi received a nod from the Uchiha in the affirmative. "Then it looks like Gai was right on the mark about him being Zabuza's comrade."

"Wait, so all that stuff he said about being a tracker ninja hunting him down was a lie?" Tazuna asked, thoroughly confused by the current situation, having already seen him apparently kill Zabuza while being escorted by Team Gai.

"Either that or Kiri hunter-nin have gotten _really _bad at this" Kakashi answered in mock disapproval.

Said hunter-nin didn't react to their referencing him, not moving an inch. In fact, neither was Zabuza for that matter, who'd only given the slightest movement to check a pocket watch, which was… odd. Checking the time right in front of your enemy seemed like a foolish thing to try out. Unless…

_Oh shi-_

*BOOM!*

"Ah, right on schedule" Zabuza noted nonchalantly as he acknowledged the sound of the explosion coming...

Right from Tazuna's house.

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Zabuza looked over Kakashi and what he assumed to be his genin squad as they reacted to the explosion. The jōnin and the Hyūga (or at least what looked a hell of a lot like one) were the only ones which had managed to maintain their defensive stances. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be trying anything as reckless as a straight up attack while _the_ Kakashi still had his guard up.

_Shame that._

"Ah, right on schedule" he forced out.

Like fuck he had been prepared for that! Not only were Gōzu and Meizu late, but they'd changed the signal. It was _supposed_ to be a flare, not a fuck off loud explosion. What the hell was going on anyway?!

Zabuza risked a glance over at Haku, who while maintaining his demeanor perfectly, was probably in the process off the exact same line of thought. This proved true as his apprentice chose that exact moment to glance over at him too. He would've found it amusing if he currently had a better handle on the current situation.

"Keep with plan A at your own discretion" he ordered, the bandages covering the lower half of his face guaranteeing that nobody was going to be reading his lips. Got he loved these things.

Haku inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement

_Time to go to work._

In a blur of motion, Haku darted forwards, already running through the hand signs to create some water clones. He would break through as Zabuza held of Kakashi, should he try to make a move, while leading the Genin away.

At least that was how it was supposed to go.

Instead, two of the genin broke formation with speed that they had no right to possess. The Uchiha, at least going by the large insignia on the back of his shirt, (really not a wise move if you asked Zabuza) moved first, ready to engage in hand–to-hand. Yet, it was the Hyūga who'd managed to interrupt Haku's jutsu, forcing him to dodge three consecutive attacks.

Leaping back in an effort to gain some distance, Haku came close to Zabuza, forcing both the Hyūga and the Uchiha to retreat back to avoid death by decapitation.

Kakashi took this momentary stalemate as an opportunity to start barking out orders. "Sasuke, get back to the house and help deal with whatever _that_ was. Neji, Naruto; I want you two holding the fake hunter-nin off until I finish up here. Shikamaru; you're to use your... speciality to protect Tazuna if either of the two should try to make a play for him."

The pineapple haired boy by the name of Shikamaru did as he was told; back peddling with the bridge builder while the Uchiha rushed passed him towards the house. The Hyūga responding to 'Neji' and the blond kid who'd answered to 'Naruto' took up defensive positions next to each other.

_Shit! Why is nothing going to plan! Haku **will **still wipe the floor with those two, but they might actually make him work for it. I would've rather had some back up against THE Kakashi. What in fuck's name Gōzu and Meizu are doing is beyond me and I'm not even **seeing** the other two brats who were with the green spaz, which could be a problem too._

Then it hit him. His... _revelation_.

'_Fuck it' _Zabuza decided as he drew Kubikiribōchō. '_I'll kill Kakashi, then the genin if they're still alive and don't surrender the bridge builder, then those fucking 'Demon Brothers' if they don't have a good excuse for making me feel like an idiot.'_ He stabbed the blade into the ground, freeing up his hands for the needed jutsu.

"Kirigakure no Jutsu", Zabuza muttered as the mist, previously held at bay just behind him, roared over the entire bridge, engulfing everyone.

He called out for his apprentice. "Haku, deal with those two while I take on the 'Sharingan-eye' over there"

The 15 year old boy, still masked, inclined his head before he began moving_ very _carefully away from Zabuza and Kakashi, the two genin following suit, vanishing into the mist with Haku. Of course Zabuza still knew where they were. Their every footstep was like a radar ping to him, in fact, he was certain he could hit them if he threw a kunai.

Not that he was going to.

Kakashi would ruthlessly take advantage of any action Zabuza took which wasn't giving him his utmost attention. Shinobi were like that when you tried to ignore them. Or kill their students. Not always in that order mind you.

Oh well, at least he had the chance to perform his mantra. The fear factor it was supposed to inspire would likely have no effect upon the jōnin, but Zabuza still got a kick out of it, so hey, what the hell.

"Larynx, Spine, Lungs, Liver, jugular, Subclavian Artery, Kidneys, and of course, the Heart. Where oh where shall I strike first."

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_Well, this is awkward._

After following Zabuza Momochi's… associate? They hadn't quite locked that down yet, Neji and Naruto stood together against their opponent in their own secluded portion of the bridge doing...

...not very much really.

The masked opponent remained poised, yet motionless. Two locks of black hair along with the brown sash around their waste drifted gently in the breeze.

Naruto, who'd been readying his kunai, relaxed his posture slightly in favour of a more confused expression as he addressed their opponent. "Um, aren't we supposed to be like, I dunno… fighting?"

Neji readied a defensive stance in case this spurred their opponent to attack.

It didn't.

'_While it could have been put more eloquently, he does rather have a point' _Neji affirmed eyes still fixed on the masked figure.

That was another thing that irritated the Hyūga.

Neji had noted, somewhat irritably, that while their opponent's affiliation as a hunter-nin may be false, the equipment that they're using certainly wasn't. Despite Byakugan, Neji found himself unable to identify the figure standing in front of him. '_The mask they're wearing is probably manufactured from the same material that Kakashi-sensei uses for his_' he concluded, observing the familiar, gentle glow of chakra running through it.

_Haku though. That was what Zabuza called him._

Haku chose this moment to speak up, still barely moving an inch. "Truly? I have no desire to fight you... or anybody for that matter". Their posture appeared to have relaxed slightly in accordance with Naruto's, '_appearing' _being the appropriate word.

"Today's affairs are more likely than not, to be settled by the battle between our respective side's jōnin shinobi-"

Neji strained his ears as the distant sound of metal clashing upon metal came from the direction that the three had departed from.

_That sentence rather seems to be leading up to a-_

"-However..."

_There it is._

"... While I don't want to have to kill you..." -Neji noted that the figure seemed to be addressing Naruto more so than himself- "...nor do I want you to have to kill me…" Haku trailed off.-

"If you come at me…" Three senbon appeared in his hand, fast, too fast.

Naruto snapped to attention again.

"...I will kill the kindness in my heart and become a true shinobi."

Naruto drew a second kunai, ready to move in with both, his figure coiled like a spring, ready to dive forward in attack.

Neji began edging forward towards Haku. "Naruto", he spoke. "Three shadow clones. Keep at a distance until I tell you to move in."

The blonde frowned, and for a moment, Neji thought that he might actually refuse. However, with a hand sign, three clones appeared, standing to attention.

Neji continued walking forward, Byakugan active as Haku addressed him. "I genuinely have no desire to kill you…". He faded in as blur of motion as he appeared in front of Neji, senbon plunging towards his chest.

Neji lashed out, catching the hand before the needles so much as pierced his skin. "But you won't stand down, will you?" Haku finished.

"Against an opponent foolish enough to engage _me _in a battle of taijutsu?" Neji answered, almost incredulous. "I think not."

"I see..." Haku responded, appearing somewhat taken aback. "You truly are of the Hyūga clan then. My apologies if I have offended you. However, I'm afraid I never_ said_ anything about this being a taijutsu battle."

_What? But I'm restraining one hand... how could he possibly-_

Haku's free hand began rushing through unrecognisable hand seals.

_With one hand?!_

"Secret Jutsu: Flying Water Needles"

Neji's mind raced as water jumped to life around him, condensing into numerous, _very_ sharp, spikes.

_A secret jutsu? So a kekkei genkai then. Very well..._

Releasing Haku's hand, he initiated his own jutsu.

"...Rotation"

Haku, in a moment of intuition, chose this moment to break contact, darting backwards as the water needles rushed towards Neji.

The Hyūga began spinning rapidly as a rotating shield of chakra appeared around him. The needles, however many there were, all dissipated harmlessly upon contact.

Neji couldn't help but smirk as he heard simultaneous choruses of "Whoa" coming from Naruto and his clones.

_Well, I suppose I shouldn't dawdle._

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"Did you think you were faster than me?"

_What?!_

One moment the Hyūga was standing a good ten meters away, seemingly satisfied in deflecting Haku's attacks with a technique that he had _no _intention whatsoever of getting even remotely close to.

Then-

The Hyūga moved in an instant. Was he really faster?

Pivoting on the spot, senbon ready, he found himself being assaulted by the clan member with his bare hands. Then again, that wasn't any particular relief considering how widely held it was that a skilled member of the Hyūga clan could kill you by… well… _poking you_. Said notion of death by prodding, Haku might have found amusing if he wasn't currently engaged a frantic struggle to avoid first-hand experience on the matter.

"Nghh" he hissed as the Hyūga's middle and index finger made contact with the left side of his abdomen.

_He had a point. Close combat with him borders on suicidal. _

Haku he darted backwards, away from his opponent. He knew that the area hit wasn't home to any vital organs, but that didn't stop it from feeling… wrong. At best it was the feeling of foreign chakra being dealt with by his body.

At worst?

_A chakra point perhaps?_

This wasn't going well. If he was going to pull out a win for Zabuza-sama then Haku needed to employ _that _technique.

_A feat easier said than done though…_

The blonde teammate, who hadn't even fought yet, posed a problem there. With what appeared to be solid and autonomous clones, he could Kawarimi the Hyūga out should he not entrap both of them. Of course, since Haku had long since lost track of the original, he would have to...

"My apologies" Haku spoke in a hushed tone of voice, resigning himself to his current course of action.

By the time the Hyūga moved to intercept, the four senbon had already left his hand, light dancing off them as they made their way towards their targets.

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"Gah! The shit?!" An utterly gobsmacked Naruto gasped as stumbled backwards.

_The fuck just happened? _

Naruto stared down at the source of the pain to see-

_Oh fuck! I've got a senbon sticking out of my freaking shoulder!_

Yanking the oversized needle ('_Ow-ow-ow-fucking-ow!') _from his shoulder, Naruto snapped his attention back to his attacker, ignoring the unpleasant memories of the three clones who'd dispelled from the same attack. "What the hell was that supposed to-"

He stopped talking.

Neji had apparently not taken the attack on his teammate well. Evidence of his discontent coming in the form of Haku...

...sailing through the air...

...not of his own volition...

...away from Neji's foot...

_Huh._

Neji, apparently not satisfied, gave chase.

_Damn that's pretty freaking badass-_

Naruto's thoughts were cut off again as he heard Haku speak.

"Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors"

Water suddenly sprang to life. Swirling around the three of them as reflective sheets of floating ice formed a dome surrounding them.

Haku darted towards the mirrors, though, when he reached one...

_Did that guy just step INSIDE that mirror?_

"Now…" came Haku's voice from...

_...Everywhere._

"It's time I showed you _true _speed."

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A/N

Believe me, I really did want to finish the whole fight, but I struck a wall here. Sorry. I'll have the next chapter out as soon as possible.

Some quotes are taken from the manga/anime/Naruto wiki, especially for Haku and Zabuza. This is because we haven't had such a radical departure from the stations of cannon yet that I can justify totally different conversations. As I progress, this will change.

At the time of uploading this chapter I will have also uploaded improved versions of ALL ] previous chapters (that's just short of 60,000 words). No narrative details changed, just proofreading and (hopefully) a better written and more coherent narrative style. Which reminds me. Do people (aka: you) like the way I write this fic? You know, third person, largely limited to the perspective of one character at any one time. Any suggestions on that in particular would be appreciated.

[UPDATE: CH1 WILL NOT CHANGE FROM THE ORIGINAL UPLOAD DUE TO GLITCH (sorry about that)

I've decided that I may need a proper beta reader, as going through and proof reading over 50,000 words in one go is _boring as fuck_. Any volunteers who're willing can IM me.

I've grown bored of this arc. It's still more or less on rails and I want to get on with the chunin exams and the summoning contracts. Still, I endure, hopefully with a different spin on thinhs as we reach the climax.

For those of you who read my other fanfic: The reason its been so long since I've updated (aside from general laziness) is that one of the main characters looks like she's being introduced in the anime now (as of 19/08/2013) and I'm going to rewrite it if she gets a proper cannon back story. As such, no updates for 'Luck and Anarchy' for now.

To tide you over since my update times have been abysmal, I recommend these fics for those hungry for good Naruto fan-fic lovers (in no order at all):

1)Dreaming of Sunshine by Silver Queen

2)Better Left Unsaid by Kenchi618

3)First Try by Lucillia

These three are sheer untainted awesome and I hope that if you haven't read them already then you will. I doubt you'll regret it.

Reviews:

SuperVegitoFAN - Yes. Here you are.

Dragonskyt - I agree with you on this. Besides, sage mode has really taken a back seat to Kyūbi mode. Thanks for you're support :-)

Hektols - Yep, looking to flesh out the Demon Brothers (a little). Hope you like :-)

Pri-Chan 1410 - Sorry I haven't updated recently. Hope I can settle into a more regular, frequent pattern. Glad you like it. Hope you continue to do so :-)

DanielHimura - Me neither. But! 1) Kakashi's not perfect. 2) Its more or less cannon.

OromisGlaedr - Gotcha. Keep reading :-)

Unyouthful Steve - I'm glad the truely shameful amount of time I spent on Naruto-wiki payed off then :-)

Takei Daloui - Feel free to speculate :-). I shall feel free to spoil nothing

SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan - Thanks :-)

Lil Miss Morningstar - I kind of wish I was as hyped about this story as you are. I keep on loosing hair over every plot detail and my narrative style feels like its all over the place. Still though, I shall power on! Hope you keep reading :-)

Konri Kari - Thanks :-)

RamenKnight - August the 21st you say? Well, who am I to argue? Thanks for the many reviews and Happy Birthday! (granted it's 11pm right now where I am). On a completely trivial side note, I assume "I find homosexuality disturbing" is a reference to your aversion slash fic's (yaoi), not a proclamation of actual homophobia. Be careful how you word it is all I'm saying if that's the case :-)


	21. Chapter 20

Fate Chaos and Plans – Chapter 20

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_You treat people's hearts like bottles on a shelf, but they're not. Hearts are made of the people we meet, and how we feel about them - they're what ties us together even when we're apart._

Sora - Kingdom Hearts 3 D Dream Drop Distance.

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The Bridge

"I'll ask you again"

The voice reverbed eerily, echoing from every mirror that surrounded the two leaf shinobi. "Please, stand down before I'm forced to do something none of us would enjoy".

Haku's image flickered across the sheets of reflective ice and, for a moment, Neji though he might be teleporting between them somehow. However, the fact that his image appeared on multiple mirrors at once struck down said theory, leaving visual illusion as the most likely suspect with some kind of trans-dimensional phasing trailing a far second.

"There's a saying appropriate in this situation, although I'm unsure of the exact wording", Neji pondered aloud as he began to smirk. "Something about glass houses?"

Naruto barked out a laugh, having been there when the proverb was actually mentioned by their pineapple haired teammate.

Of course, Neji knew exactly what the quote was.

'_Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones'. Hmph, demanding surrender when on the cusp of defeat. A foolish endeavor if ever there was one._

Haku had allowed a rather feminine giggle to escape, stunning Naruto silent as a frown turned to a look of horrified comprehension. However, before Neji could question him on it, their opponent spoke once more.

"I'm afraid you're surrounded on all sides" The masked boy declared, his image readying senbon to let loose upon them from what looked like every mirror, including (as seen by an activated byakugan) those behind him. "I can attack you from any and every direction".

_Aside from the ground you mean? Considering you could've just formed one huge ice mirror and used it to attack from absolutely every direction._

Not that Neji would be voicing _that_ idea out loud. In fact, he was rather hoping that Haku didn't correct that little oversight. Outwardly, he simply allowed his smirk to grow a little wider as he realised exactly how useless Haku's method off attack was against him. Unless he knew... as well as where it... well... that was unlikely. Neji's only real problem was his comrade. A problem he would now remedy.

"Naruto."

"Yea?"

"Clones. Surround yourself with them".

Naruto obliged, surrounding himself with around ten clones covering all possible directions they could be attacked from.

Haku did nothing to prevent this, merely watching them.

In retrospect, that should've been Neji's first clue.

"A clever idea, I'll admit" Haku conceded. "However, that does nothing for _you_ does it?" he asked, turning his gaze, as far Haku's mask would allow Neji to tell, upon him.

Before there was even time to answer, seven senbon scorched through the air in his direction, each targeting a different pressure point that would likely shut down the effected areas.

Neji glided two steps forward, pivoting as he went. Five senbon blurred past him as he caught the remaining two mid-air. The Hyūga raised an an eyebrow in the direction of one of the mirrors.

"How awful for me" the Hyūga deadpanned. "To face off against an opponent who can launch attacks from _any_ direction."

Neji began spinning one of the senbon he'd _liberated _mid-flight.

"_If only_", he declared in mock despair before dropping both caught senbon. "_If only_ I possessed an ability that extended my peripheral vision to three-hundred-and-sixty degrees while also maintaining perfect situational awareness."

Neji spun round catching another senbon heading for his shoulder before turning to the mirror that launched the projectile upon him.

"Oh wait. _I do_."

"Ah," was all the response Haku would give.

*Clap clap cla-SMACK*

"Ow! Hey, you could've dispelled me!" One of Naruto's clones cried out in protest after receiving a slap over the back of the head for trying to applaud him.

Mildly amused by the chakra freak's antics Neji stayed vigilant for Haku's next move. He'd also noted that, despite appearing complacent, Naruto's clones had the real(?) Naruto very well guarded. And if a Hyūga couldn't figure out which one was real, aside from the implication that it was the one being guarded, then there was no chance at all that Haku had.

As far as his eyes could tell, the mirrors were made of compressed ice, reinforced with chakra. This meant that they were, in all likelihood, unbreakable. Well, for them at least.

_For now..._

His best chance would likely be to get close enough to one of the mirrors and use 'rotation' to break past them to-

_Wait... What is __**that?**_

Neji looked outward, far behind the (marginally) weakest mirror he'd been observing. It was almost outside of his range but-

"Oh no." Those were the only words he could think of as he whispered them under his breath.

Lingering in the distance...

_Reinforcements. Roughly... one-hundred-and-fifty chakra sources. By the looks of it, probably not shinobi... unless they're suppressing their chakra signatures. But if not then... hired swords? That would seem most likely. But that would still overwhelm us completely! What are they even waiting for? All they have to do is make a move and we'd be powerless to prevent them from killing our employer-_

"I'm sorry". The words yanked Neji from his train of increasingly desperate thought, thrusting him back into his current situation.

Haku continued. "It seems I've underestimated you both; proprietors of high level ninjutsu as well as a highly esteemed bloodline. In my inadequacy as his tool, I've risked failing Zabuza-sama."

Neji's eyes narrowed as he suppressed a full-on scowl. So Haku was of _that _kind of mentality. He _hated_ people who thought like that. The branch-family was full of them. The one's who lived the lie which had been thrust upon them:

'_Live, only to serve the main-house'_ they said. '_We are, but humble servants, an extension of their will' _they said. '_To bring honour to the main house is to bring honour to oneself _' They said.

Never. Ever. He might have to live like that, but he refused to_ think_ like that. He wouldn't be reduced to; 'branch-house member'. Because one was, that's _all _they were. Just things that belonged to someone else.

But he would be more. He _was_ more.

He was Neji Hyūga and Son of Hizashi Hyūga. He liked meditation, wild birds and herring soba. He thought pumpkins and were gross and had little tolerance for spicy foods. He still cringed in embarrassment when he thought about that one time Tenten called him arrogant and he'd said '_So what? Maybe I am just that good_.' And, every time he looked at his former teammates he was overcome with so much guilt he felt physically ill and he was so sorry for being a complete heel and he had not in the slightest clue how to make it right, or even if he ever could.

That was him. Not a tool. Not a nameless, mindless servant. He was a _real_ person. He made horrifically stupid mistakes. He had hopes and dreams. Likes and dislikes. And friends...

_Even if I don't deserve them._

"The hell is that supposed to mean!?" Asked one of said friends, who had, of course, taken similar issue. If anything, Naruto likely struggled against a kind of branding just as much as he did. Perhaps even more so. To have people look at you and see only a thing...

"I've devoted myself to serving as Zabuza-sama's tool. My purpose is as his weapon, so that he might achieve his dream" Haku answered softly, yet, with conviction. "For that I shall-"

"**Bullshit**" came the, if you knew the guy, inevitable interruption.

Naruto, although it could've been one of his clones, strolled over to where one of the thrown senbon lay on the ground, picking it up. "This is your _tool"_ he drawled, holding it between his index finger and his thumb, almost in disgust.

Suddenly he snapped into a battle ready position holding the senbon in the same manner he did a kunai. It was the wrong way, not that it mattered to anyone. "_I_ picked it up and now it's _my_ tool" said Naruto, his eyed flickering from mirror to mirror. "That's how tools work." He lowered it again, fists clenched tightly.

"**They** **don't have loyalty. They don't love. And they don't have '**_**SOMEONE IMPORTANT TO PROTECT!'**_ The senbon was bent now, almost to the point of snapping completely.

"So you can just... just shut up about all that 'tool' crap and admit that you're doing this for someone you care about, something a tool could never actually do by the freaking way!"

_That's... isn't that what he was positively gushing about the other-_

_...Oh._

That would, Neji supposed, make Haku the '_dude who totally looked like a really pretty girl_!' who'd apparently taught Naruto some kind of life lesson.

And now they were fighting a battle to the - quite possibly – death with him.

Haku remained silent for a moment that just seemed... endless, despite it probably only being a few moments.

And then Haku told them a story.

It was about a little boy... and a man, with eyes _just like his._

.

.

* * *

.

.

_This isn't... oh god... this... this can't be happening._

He was covered... no... drenched in blood. Some of it'd even gotten through his gas mask. The smell made him feel like vomiting. It shouldn't have. _He'd prepared_ for this. _He'd been ready_ for this_. He knew_ it was coming. _He knew_ what he would have to do. Now...

"B..Brother..."

He wasn't prepared. He wasn't ready. He could never know...

How could he?

He looked back up at the man, his brother, a blade lodged inside his chest. He was still holding the blade as blood gushed over his wrist. His mask was still on but, his eyes... his eyes said everything. They were doing that little squint they always did when he...

...He was smiling.

"It's ok."

No it wasn't! They were a team! 'Live together, die together!' They'd said that! That was their fucking mantra since before they were even genin and now-

His eyes had started to fade, but they weren't closing. That meant that he would have to watch as the last speck of life drained out.

"W..Why?" He strangled out, desperate to ask the question. The only question left. "Why did you make me..."

His mouth moved in response as he tried to speak, spluttering yet more blood over him before finally forcing out...

"your... fault..."

He might not have been the one dying, but time froze still. The world darkened and colour drained from his vision. He shouldn't have asked. He shouldn't have expected anything else from the man he'd kil-

The dying man drew another breath before his lips whispered, "Not... your fault." He exhaled, and slowly, he closed his eyes. He was still smiling.

The survivor stared at the dead man, his mouth half open, his breath caught in his throat. Finally, he pulled his gaze away, looking round at the rest of the... situation.

It was over now, and for whatever reason, all eyes lay upon him.

Finally, someone spoke, oh wait, no, he'd been the one speaking. Whatever it was that he'd said they'd apparently agreed with him. He set off towards the bridge.

_Right..._

There were still people left to kill.

.

.

* * *

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A/N

Updated version :)

Sorry this chapter is so short, but it was rather plot dense.

I kind of went and pulled a subverted version of a certain scene from the 'Methods of Rationality' fanfic. If you spot it then, hey, good for you.

So somethings have been happening off screen. I will elaborate.

I decided to have Haku's back-story explained this way because we all already know it. This way helped me give it the proper emotional depth (I hope) without bogging people down in exposition the've already seen/read a hundred times over.

Neji can still be a bit of an arrogant prick. I find it difficult to believe that fate was the only reason he was this in cannon and, unlike cannon, he had no humbling beat-down. This is also a big chapter for him as he makes a 'heel realization' proper at one of the most inconvenient moments possible. It was kind of implied previously but here it is proper.

Fair warning. You may not hear form this story for a while. The release of the new GTA will most likely dominate my life up until I have to go back to university. I will not apologise for this.

Other Fanfic is still on hold until I know whether or not a certain character get's filler back story.

I rather like how a certain someone developing in the manga (no spoilers here), while Madara'a exposition just Keeps getting weirder and weirder. I'm beginning to think that the Cannon Naruto-verse is actually an 'Apocalypse how'. Not sure how I would feel about that.

No review responses this time around (aside from those of you I PM'd). Still' I read all of them and thank you's all around for the kind words. The not so kind words usually involve sage mode. I am however, taking this as a challenge to win people over :)

Later


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